Occurence of the trace fossil Beaconites antarcticus in the lower carboniferous fluviatile rocks of county Mayo, Ireland
Abstract Large, straight, curved or sinuous endichnial burrows with a meniscus pattern of infilling are described from Lower Carboniferous red beds of County Mayo, Ireland. The burrows have been identified as Beaconites antarcticus. The burrows show a strong facies association, being concentrated in the upper parts of sandstones deposited during floods in shallow, possibly ephemeral stream channels. They appear to be absent from the overlying non-red fluvial sandstones which show evidence for deeper, more sinuous and more permanent channels. It is suggested that burrowing was related to varying moisture content of the sediment. The burrows were probably formed by locomotory back-packing of arthropods or vertebrates but the precise nature of the producer remains unknown.