Asteriacites is a type of five-rayed trace fossil found in marine sedimentary rocks. It records the burrows of ophiuroid and asteroid sea stars on the sea floor. Asteriacites is found in European and American rocks, from the Ordovician period onwards, and is especially numerous in the Triassic and Jurassic systems.[2][3][4]
| Asteriacites Temporal range:
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| Asteriacites lumbricalis, a trace fossil of an ophiuroid echinoderm; Carmel Formation (Middle Jurassic), near Gunlock, Utah | |
Trace fossil classification 
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| Ichnofamily: | †Asteriacitidae |
| Ichnogenus: | †Asteriacites von Schlotheim, 1820 |
| Ichnospecies[1] | |
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| Synonyms[1] | |
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Dense assemblages of Asteriacites ('Asteriacites beds') are considered proxies for marine settings, low bioturbation intensity, shallow tiering, high sedimentation rate and/or event-bed deposition, significant levels of hydrodynamic energy, and low predation pressure.[4]
Gallery
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Asteriacites from the Devonian of northeastern Ohio; this trace was made by an asteroid echinoderm -
Bedding plane view of Asteriacites from the Snapper Point Formation (Permian), New South Wales
References
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- ^ a b Knaust, Dirk; Neumann, Christian (2016). "Asteriacites von Schlotheim, 1820 – the oldest valid ichnogenus name – and other asterozoan-produced trace fossils". Earth-Science Reviews. 157: 111–120. doi:10.1016/j.earscirev.2016.04.003. ISSN 0012-8252. (Erratum: doi:10.1016/j.earscirev.2017.02.005)
- ^ Mángano, M.G.; Buatois, L.A.; West, R.R.; Maples, C.G. (1999). "The origin and paleoecologic significance of the trace fossil Asteriacites in the Pennsylvanian of Kansas and Missouri". Lethaia. 32 (1): 17–30. Bibcode:1999Letha..32...17M. doi:10.1111/j.1502-3931.1999.tb00577.x.
- ^ Wilson, M.A.; Rigby, J.K. (2000). "Asteriacites lumbricalis von Schlotheim 1820: ophiuroid trace fossils from the Lower Triassic Thaynes Formation, central Utah". Ichnos. 7 (1): 43–49. Bibcode:2000Ichno...7...43W. doi:10.1080/10420940009380145. S2CID 129314190.
- ^ a b Baucon, A., Neto de Carvalho, C. 2016. Stars of the aftermath: Asteriacites beds from the Lower Triassic of the Carnic Alps (Werfen Formation, Sauris di Sopra), Italy. Palaios 31. Abstract available at http://www.tracemaker.com
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