Entobia ichnofacies in fossil rocky shores, lower Pliocene, northwestern Mediterranean

Ichnological study of Lower Pliocene rocky shores in several northwestern Mediterranean basins has revealed the existence of a recurrent trace fossil assemblage of borings. This assemblage is dominated by the ichnogenera Gastrochaenolites and Entobia, which often are accompanied by other borings, such as Maeandropolydora, Caulostrepsis, Trypanites, Circolites, Iramena, and unnamed U-shaped borings. The same Gastrochaenolites-Entobia assemblage has been described from Mesozoic and Cenozoic rocky shores around the world, and these observations validate the recently proposed Entobia ichnofacies as a recurrent ichnofacies for post-Paleozoic rocky shores.