Trace fossils ENG
Except the fossil plants and animals, trace fossils are often preserved as well. They serving as excellent evidence in research into the life of various animals and functioning of entire ecosystems. For animals with no solid body parts, trace fossils are oftentimes the only evidence of their existence. Often, they also provide evidence of appearance (morphology) of the particular animal. A great advantage is their immovability; they are always found exactly in the place of their origin. Trace fossils are commonly divided into groups according to the behaviour of their originator and the manner of origination – for instance, we can differentiate traces of locomotion (repichnia), traces of sediment feeders (fodichnia), resting traces (cubichnia), escape traces (fugichnia), dwelling traces (domichnia), etc. A specific group of trace fossils are coprolites (fossil shits). Research into these seemingly bizzare fossils brings valuable information on anatomy of the originator, food composition (from undigested matter) etc.
The Krkonoše Piedmont is a rather rich in Paleozoic trace fossils, including of five-finger footprints of amphibians and small tunnels and sediment feeding traces or worms and insects. Coprolites are also abundant, particularly those of amphibians, fishes, and sharks.