Article: Trace fossils from Rhaetic shore-face deposits of Staffordshire

The basal Rhaetic deposits of the Needwood Basin, Staffordshire, are of sandstone facies, in marked contrast to the well known bone beds and dark shales of the transgressive Westbury Formation which crop out elsewhere. The ochreous yellow sandstones contain abundant but poorly preserved bivalves (Eotrapezium sp.) together with an extensive ichnofauna which is dominated by Pelecypodichnus but also includes Arenicolites, Kouphichnium, Palaeophycus, Planolites, and Rusophycus in addition to various other trails and burrows. Although this trace fossil assemblage suggests an environment which could range from non-marine to marginal marine, the latter environment is indicated for these shallow water sands by the presence of the marine Eotrapezium. The Needwood trace fossils and facies show close similarities to the German Rhatsandstein, a sequence of offshore and marginal marine sandstones.