Introduction to journal of South American Earth sciences special issue on “Ichnology through the Phanerozoic: A Latin America perspective”

PABLO J. PAZOS; FERNANDEZ D.E,; HEITOR FRANCISCHINI

JOURNAL OF SOUTH AMERICAN EARTH SCIENCES

PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD

Lugar: Amsterdam; Año: 2021 vol. 112

0895-9811

Manyreasons converged to publish the Special Issue about “Ichnology through thePhanerozoic: A Latin American perspective”. Ichnology appeared as a branch ofpaleontology more than a century ago but the modern vision as a unique andindependent discipline pivoting from two roots (Geosciences and Biosciences) iscertainly more recent. In a first moment, the research that supplied the firstbricks to an ichnological approach was based on detailed and robustinvestigations in the North Hemisphere, particularly about ichnotaxonomy, wheremany ichnotaxa were proposed and most of them are still valid today. The firststeps of Ichnology in Latin America, for instance, include pioneeringcontributions made by d´Orbigny (1842) in Bolivia where, for example, thefamous ichnogenus Cruziana was proposed. In Argentina, early mentions ofichnofossils date from more than a century ago by Bodenbender (1916) whereasDerby (1879), Clarke (1913) and Pacheco (1913) worked with material fromBrazil. This discipline, however, gained ground in the 20th century, whenseveral important works were conducted and published, in special on the secondhalf of this century, when it was gradually propelled and stimulated newfindings in other countries, such as Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, ElSalvador, Mexico, Nicaragua, Peru, and Uruguay. Among the study of tetrapodtracks, there were works led by an amateur paleontologist (Casamiquela, 1964),but also formal scientists such as von Huene (1931), Bonaparte (1965), andespecially Leonardi (1979, 1987, 1994) are noteworthy. Giuseppe Leonardi, infact, was responsible for a standardization of terms (in eight languages),methods, and parameters which are still the main reference on tetrapod trackworldwide research (Leonardi, 1979, 1987). As a result of several years ofresearch and fieldwork, he also compiled a huge amount of data from tracksitescovering all Latin America, publishing one of the most complete and up to dateatlas of tetrapod tracks and trackways occurrences so far (Leonardi, 1994). Ininvertebrate ichnology, Roselli (1938), in Uruguay, carried out some of theearliest studies of ichnofossils produced by insects, while Frenguelli (1939)recognized also the same type of trace fossils in Patagonia. Later, Borrello(1971) was the pioneer in proposing an ichnological lexicon. Aceñolaza andDurand (1973) analyzed the first ichnofaunas documented in thePrecambrian–Cambrian transition. In other words, those seminal ichnologistswere the pillars for the next generation of ichnologists that expanded thestudies to paleoenvironmental interpretations, the frequently named ‘appliedichnology’ and traditional ichnotaxonomical and paleocological studiesinvolving trace fossils. The 21stcentury in Latin American Ichnology is clearly marked by the achieving ofscientific maturity, with the positioning of this region side by side with theNorthern Hemisphere schools. In this context, the First InternationalIchnological Congress (ICHNIA), hosted in Trelew (Argentina) in 2004, was amilestone that reflects the crescent participation of the region ontheichnological scenario. Since then, Latin America hosted four editions of theSimposio Latinoamericano de Icnología (2010 in Brazil, 2013 in Argentina, 2015in Uruguay; and 2018 in Colombia) and the first edition of the SeminarioVirtual Internacional de Icnología de Vertebrados (2021, Argentina),exemplifying the spreading and development of the ichnological science over theentire region. The location of the next meeting (ICHNIA, 2022 in Florianópolis,Brazil), consolidates this vocation.