痕迹学是研究现代和古代生物活动痕迹的科学。该学科最早由里克特(1936)提出,他指的是“活着的动物在沉积物内或沉积物表面上活动所产生的构造”或称为“生物扰动构造”。尔后,国外许多学者,诸如塞拉赫、舍费尔、赖内克等人,提出各种分类意见并不断加以充实。特别是近二十年来,痕迹学已逐渐发展成为一门研究沉积环境的新兴学科。人们把研究现代生物活动痕迹叫新痕迹学;把研究古代生物活动痕迹叫古痕迹学。不论是现代或古代动物活着时留下的“足迹、移迹、潜穴、钻孔、栖息、觅食、逃逸、隐伏、粪便”等痕迹,它们都属于生物成因的构造。痕迹或痕迹化石是当时沉积环境的真实记录。国外学者 Trace science is a science that studies traces of modern and ancient biological activity. The discipline was first proposed by Richett (1936), referring to “the structure of a living animal that acts on or in the sediment” or “bioturbation structure.” Later, many foreign scholars, such as Serach, Schaefer, Renek and others, put forward various classification opinions and constantly enrich them. Especially in recent two decades, trace science has gradually developed into a new discipline of sedimentary environment. People study the traces of modern biological activity called new trace studies; the study of ancient traces of biological activity called ancient trace studies. No matter what traces of “footprints, tracks, burrows, holes, habitats, foraging, escaping, concealment, excrement” left by modern or ancient animals while living, they all belong to the genesis of biological genesis. Traces or traces Fossils are a true record of the sedimentary environment at the time. Foreign scholars