Asteriacites

Asteriacites lumbricalis, a trace fossil of an ophiuroid echinoderm; Carmel Formation (Middle Jurassic), near Gunlock, Utah

Asteriacites is the name given to five-rayed trace fossils found in marine sedimentary rocks (Mángano et al., 1999; Wilson and Rigby, 2000). They record the burrows of ophiuroid and asteroid sea stars on the sea floor. Asteriacites are found in European and American rocks, from the Ordovician period onwards, and are especially numerous in the Jurassic system.

Asteriacites from the Devonian of northeastern Ohio; this trace was made by an asteroid echinoderm

File:Asteriacites mcr1.jpg

Bedding plane view of Asteriacites from the Snapper Point Formation (Permian), New South Wales