ich·nite | /ˈikˌnīt/
Ichnite comes to us from the Latinised form of the Greek ikhnos, meaning a track or footprint, and is the scientific term for fossil footprints.
Ichnites are classified as trace fossils that, like dinosaur dung, are evidence of biological activity but not actually part of an organism. They are formed on soft ground such as drying mud flats where a deep impression is subsequently filled with less-durable or condensed materials like silt and sand. If that strata is later exposed, the softer substances are eroded, often revealing momentary events in the lives of creatures that lived tens of millions of years ago.
Ichnites can tell palaeontologists a lot about the animals that left them. The photo on the right was taken on the Isle of Skye. It shows the impression made during the Jurassic period by an approximately one tonne, three-toed relative of Tyrannosaurus rex whilst strolling at a leisurely pace across what was probably a tidal lagoon.
At Formby Beach on the north-west coast of England, human footprints dating back to the Mesolithic period are often found in muddy deposits exposed at low tide. Once exposed, these prehistoric ichnites are highly ephemeral and likely to be destroyed by the next tide. Many of the adult male tracks are associated with those of red deer. The female tracks are more likely to be accompanied by those of children. One particular set appeared to show a woman gathering seafood and the surrounding chaos of children’s footprints suggested they were simply running around having fun.
Fossil tracks are not always the result of footsteps – they can also be made by tail drags, belly drags, and even whole body impressions.
Introduction Aeolian Alpenglow
Benthos Crepuscular Crispate Crown shyness
Desire lines Dreich Endragoned Edgelands
Frondescence Fumarole Gluggaveður Gossamer
Karst Komorebi Lawrence Long acre
Machair Monkey’s wedding Moonglade
Psithurism Quartz Rakuyou Roaring forties
Snag Soft estate Specular, diffuse and pellucid
Spoondrift Steam fog Swash zone Sylvan