STUDY OF TRACE FOSSILS IN THE PAST EIGHTY YEARS IN CHINA

Ichnological study went through three stages of abecedarian(1929—1978),systematic(1978—2004),and innovating(2004—) researches in China.Eight aspects of achievements and progresses are summarized as follows:the study of the Precambrian and Cambrian transitional trace fossils and their implication for the origin and the Cambrian explosion of animal life;the study of palaeoenvironments and palaeoecology of marine trace fossils;the terrestrial trace fossils and their relations to petroleum,gas,and coal explorations;the Precambrian trace fossils and their relations to the origin and evolution of metazoan;the topoichnological analysis;the trace fossils and their application in the study of turbidites,tempestites,and sequence stratigraphy;the geobiological study of complex trace fossils,and the mathematic and computer modeling and visualization of trace fossils.Despite these progresses,a number of difficulties remain in ichnological study in China.For example,the research group specialized on ichnology is not stable,with few scientists currently working on ichinology;the original,systematic,and prominent achievements are to be desired;and the interdisciplinary interaction and international collaboration are lacking.We propose that the future directions for the development of ichnology in China should include:1) cultivating and supporting the distinctive ichnological groups and the related study directions;2) strengthening geobiological study of trace fossils based on systematic ichnological data;3) continuing the investigation of marine and non-marine trace fossils and their applications in the assessment of petroleum and gas resources and fine depiction of petroleum and gas reservoirs;and 4) seeking application of new technology and analytic methods as well as study of modern biogenic traces.