Oldhamia from the Oligocene/Miocene-age deep-marine Algeciras Unit, Campo de Gibraltar Complex, southeast Spain: First record of this characteristic Lower Palaeozoic (mainly Cambrian) ichnofossil from younger strata

Abstract

The ichnofossil Oldhamia is considered to be characteristic of deep-marine, Cambrian-age successions. Recent work from an Oligocene/Miocene-age sedimentary succession in the southwest of Spain revealed the presence of well-preserved Oldhamia at the base of two beds (which occur close to one another). Oldhamia was associated with a range of other ichnofossils including Belorhaphe, Chondrites, Circulichnis, Cochlichnus, Cosmorhaphe, Desmograpton, Halopoa, Helminthopsis, Nereites, Palaeodictyon, Palaeophycus, Planolites, Protopalaeodictyon, Scolicia, Spirophycus, Teichichnus, Thalassinoides, and Zoophycos. Deposition occurred in a lobe or channel margin environment in a deep-marine setting. This record of Oldhamia extends the range into the Paleogene/Neogene, and as such is of great ichnological and ichnostratigraphic significance.

Keywords:

• Ichnofossil
• ichnostratigraphy
• Oldhamia
• Spain
• turbidite

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank my reviewers – one anonymous and Romain Gougeon – as well as the editors of Ichnos (especially Dave Keighley), for their excellent work on my manuscript. The text and presentation has been greatly improved by their careful and pertinent reviews. B. Krumbiegel and E. Drews are thanked for the excellent diagrams. This work was partly supported by DFG Grant MC 10/17-1. Finally, I would like to dedicate this work to Ron Pickerill – easily the best supervisor I ever had, and from whom I learned so much.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by author.