New ichnotaxa based on tooth impressions on dinosaur and whale bones

Abstract

Traces produced by teeth on bones provide a source of information on the feeding behaviour, predator-prey relationships, and tooth morphology of the tracemaking carnivores and scavengers involved. Studies on mammals, both fossil and recent, have used tooth-scratched bones as clues to the feeding behaviour of carnivorous, scavenging, mineral-seeking and tooth-sharpening mammals in various ecosystems. Similarly, theropod tooth traces have the potential of being important for studying the ecology and ethology of both carnivorous and herbivorous dinosaurs. This paper augments the ichnological nomenclature for traces made by teeth on bones. Two new ichnogenera and ichnospecies, Linichnus serratus and Knethichnus parallelum, are introduced on the basis of the morphology of theropod biting damage, to focus on the resulting trace fossils as an ichnological feature and to encourage further observation and studies of distribution. Using similar ichnological terminology for both theropod and mammalian feeding traces, and even those of selachian sharks preying on whales or scavenging their corpses, will help coordinate biting strategies, jaw mechanism and feeding behaviour for both recent and ancient carnivores and scavengers.