Mortichnia

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Mesolimulus walchi (on the far left), Jura Museum, Eichstätt

A mortichnia is the "death march", or last walk, of a living creature.

fossil footprints
.

Notable examples

In 2002 the mortichnia of a horseshoe crab was found in lithographic limestone in Bavaria, Germany.[2][1] The trail measured 9.7m and was left about 150 million years ago when the crab died in an anoxic lagoon.[1] The footprints left enough evidence for researchers to determine that the creature probably fell into the lagoon upside-down, righted itself, and started walking before succumbing to the anoxic conditions of the water.[1] The trackway is currently exhibited at the Wyoming Dinosaur Center.[3]

See also

  • ichnogenus
    attributed to horseshoe crabs

References

  1. ^ a b c d "Fossil records 'crab' death march". BBC News. 6 September 2012. Retrieved September 7, 2012.
  2. S2CID 55610538
    .
  3. ^ "Final Journey of the Horseshoe Crab: The Longest Mortichnial Trackway in the Fossil Record". Retrieved 2020-05-25.