![](../I/Gnathichnus_Cenomanian_020413.JPG.webp)
Gnathichnus pentax echinoid trace fossil on an oyster from the Cenomanian of Hamakhtesh Hagadol, southern Israel.
![](../I/Strongylocentrotus_purpuratus_020313.JPG.webp)
Oral surface of Strongylocentrotus purpuratus showing the teeth of the Aristotle's Lantern, which can make the trace Gnathichnus.
Gnathichnus is a trace fossil on a hard substrate (typically a shell, rock or hardground made of calcium carbonate) formed by regular echinoids as they scraped the surface with their five-toothed Aristotle's Lantern feeding structures (Bromley, 1975).
References
- Bromley, R.G. (1975). "Comparative analysis of fossil and recent echinoid bioerosion". Palaeontology. 18: 725–739.
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