Teredolites longissimus (allochthonus)

These "allochthonus" Teredolites longissimus are found in flood-dominated tidal facies within a delta front shoreface found in the Wall Creek Member of the Frontier Formation, Powder River Basin, Wyoming.  True Teredolites are substrate dependent and occurrences are found upon woody xylic substrates that commonly overlie coal beds.  These wood boring trace makers are either extra-formational or intra-formational, i.e. Teredolites bearing xylic intraclasts or record molds of intra-basinal deposits of bored wood.

Teredolites clavatus (?) occurrences above are found contained within channelized sandstones of the Ferron Formation (sandstone) - Utah.   To date, these are the largest examples I have come across in outcrop or seen in whole / split cores.  Diameters of a few of these trace fossil some occurrences are as much as 3.5 cm.

Detail image of in-situ Teredolites clavatus (?).  These trace occurrences were removed from the outcrop and additional examples can be found at the County Line Channel outcrop - Utah.  Interpretation of the above image suggests trace maker wood boring behavior may have followed the wood grain.  Borings and striations seen on bore walls are parallel, well illustrated in the above image, and appear to follow an identical orientation as the long axis of each boring.  The striations are interpreted to represent the intersection of wood grain (growth rings) with the bore wall.

Three examples of these mega-Teredolites clavatus (?) removed during a recent SEPM short course now on their way to Canada.  Evidence of the trace maker's growth is seen in the left and middle examples (note the increased diameter of the in each boring occurring at the ends of each trace).

Teredolites trace fossil occurrences found across the top of a coal bed in the Ferron Formation (sandstone).  The traces fossils shown above preserve a record of infaunal boring into a woody substrate.  Teredolites trace fossils are an excellent indicator for marine transgression of underlying very near shore to non-marine deposits.  The Teredolites trace fossil is one of a handful of traces that is attributed to a unique trace maker -- in this case, to a wood boring clam.

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