ASGP (2015), vol. 85: 493–505

TRACE FOSSILS FROM THE EOCENE LILLEBÆLT CLAY FORMATION, RØSNÆS PENINSULA, DENMARK

Jan Kresten NIELSEN (1), Jesper MILÀN (2, 3) & Daniel MESFUN (4)

1) VNG Norge, Filipstad Brygge 1, NO-0252 Oslo, Norway; e-mail taphofacies at hotmail.com
2) Geomuseum Faxe / Østsjællands Museum, Østervej 2, DK-4640 Faxe, Denmark
3) Natural History Museum of Denmark, Øster Voldgade 5-7, DK-1350 Copenhagen K, Denmark
4) GXU - Gladsaxe 10. Klasse og Ungdomsskole, Gladsaxevej 198, DK-2860 Søborg, Denmark

Nielsen, J. K., Milàn, J. & Mesfun, D., 2015. Trace fossils from the Eocene Lillebælt Clay Formation, Røsnæs, Denmark. Annales Societatis Geologorum Poloniae, 85: 493–505.

Abstract: A cliff exposure of the Eocene Lillebælt Clay Formation, on the Røsnæs peninsula of Zealand, Denmark, has yielded a diverse trace-fossil assemblage. The trace fossils are described formally for the first time and assigned to Phymatoderma melvillensis, unnamed clusters of small burrows, Ophiomorpha nodosa, Spongeliomorpha isp., Dreginozoum beckumensis, Bichordites isp., Chondrites isp., Atollites zitteli? and ?Rhizocorallium isp. The preservation of the trace fossils is strongly related to early diagenetic enhancement. The trace-fossil assemblage is dominated by a combination of dwelling and feeding burrows. The bioturbation took place in very clean clay of a shelf setting far offshore. The trace-fossil assemblage is indicative of the distal Cruziana ichnofacies.

Manuscript received 9 January 2015 accepted 29 May 2015