Bathichnus and its significance in the trace fossil association of Upper Cretaceous chalk, Mors, Denmark

The ichnogenus Bathichnus is given a supplementary description. Many cross-sections of side branches , leading away from the main vertical shaft, are described, which should aid in the recognition of the trace fossil in limited exposures such as drilled cores. Bathichnus is interpreted to reflect the behavior of an animal, which responded to rapid sediment accumulation by extending its burrow to the new sediment surface.

Trace fossils in redeposited beds may either precede the redeposition, reflect an escape from burial under the redeposited sediment, mirror an adaptation of the animal to rapid episodic deposition, or they may represent the time interval between major depositional episodes.

The diagenetic coronas around the vertical shafts of Bathichnus including the paramoudra flints , were developed on chemical gradients away from the shafts. The gradients were established contemporaneously with sedimentation , in part because reducing pore water from below was forced, owing to compaction, to move upwards through the vertical shafts.