Simulations of Burrowing Strategies and Construction of Paleodictyon
George Donald Garlick, William Charles Miller · Journal of Geological Education · 1993
Computer simulations are useful aids in the interpretation of burrows. Many different morphologies can be simulated by manipulating the parameters of one or two simple programs. Simulations of the astonishing hexagonal symmetry of the trace fossil Paleodictyon reveal that its architecture is probably the consequence of spiral excavation by an organism with outstanding navigational skills. The tracemaker appears to execute turns within 2° of the nominal 60° and to regularly re-occupy its pre-existing burrow in order to re-adjust position and orientation. We suggest that such precision is unlikely in protists or vermiform organisms, and we therefore propose that the responsible organism is a small elongate crustacean.