Reply to the Comments by Bromley et al. of the paper 'Reconnaissance of the Upper Jurassic Morrison Formation ichnofossils, Rocky Mountain Region, USA: Paleoenvironmental, stratigraphic, and paleoclimatic significance of terrestrial and freshwater ichnoc

摘要

Bromley et al. (2007) questioned the interpretations of ichnofossils in the Upper Jurassic Morrison Formation presented in Hasiotis (2004), which was thoroughly peer reviewed with descriptions, interpretations, discussions, and implications of terrestrial and aquatic ichnofossils. Hasiotis (2004) presented new information and provided a synthesis of reconnaissance research on mostly continental ichnofossils, emphasizing the physicochemical processes and conditions that shaped continental landscapes. Innovative ways were offered to assess and interpret ichna and their associations, intending to make ichnology a useful tool to interpret more effectively environmental, hydrogeologic, ecologic, and climatic settings recorded by continental deposits. Hasiotis (2004) is not a systematic treatment of ichnology. No room was available to present corresponding detailed analyses to compare 75 trace fossils to other ichna or modern traces; however, references were cited from which such information was gleaned.