TRACES OF ICNOPHOSSILS

Traces of icnofossils found in a limestone pebble in Val Mozzola, in the Parma Apennines. These are traces of Condrites (probably Fucoides), or footprints left by the passage of ancient living organisms such as worms, or the tunnels dug by them, then over time filled by the sediment of other mineral substances. These ancient organisms moved on the seabed in search of food, or in any case, being alive, they moved to make their own affairs !  The most experienced geologists will also be able to estimate the kind of activity carried out by the ancient living creature based on the type of traces left (Cubichnia: traces of rest; Repichnia: traces of displacement; Pascichnia: traces of nourishment; Fodinichnia: traces of exploration; Domichnia: traces of dwelling).

If there is one thing I can't stand when I watch documentaries on animal behavior, it is their "humanization", that is to project the typical human mentality (occidental) into the psychology of animals, which is then easy, for the viewer without a critical spirit, to do the reverse process and accept certain values and certain behaviors as "natural", being "present" in nature: more than present really, I would say presented, in an obsessive and pounding way like certain advertisements; to me they genuinely give the impression of being a story or an interpretation, which could also be very distorted. Sometimes I wonde if life is really like that: if it all comes down to the demarcation of the territory, to the food, to the dominant male, to the courtship... it would be a very sad and banal thing ! But looking around, maybe that's it !