Abundance and morphology of Paleodictyon nodosum, observed at the Clarion-Clipperton Zone

Paleodictyon is an important trace fossil characterised by a regular hexagonal structure and typical of ancient deep-ocean habitats as far back as the Ordovician. It is represented in modern deep-sea settings by Paleodictyon nodosum, known from the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, the South Atlantic, and off eastern Australia. Here we report the occurrence of P. nodosum in the Clarion Clipperton Zone (CCZ), abyssal equatorial Pacific, an area characterised by polymetallic nodule fields. At the study site within the International Seabed Authority northeastern Area of Particular Environmental Interest (APEI-6), P. nodosum appeared as a compact, regular pattern of small circular openings on the seafloor, each pattern interpreted as reflecting the activity of an individual organism. The patterns had a mean size (maximum dimension) of 45 mm ± 16 mm SD (n = 841) and occurred at a density of 0.33 individuals m(−2). Most (82%) were interrupted by nodules, but those that were not displayed both regular (59%) and irregular (41%) forms, the former having equal numbers of rows along the three axes (6 x 6 x 6 and 8 x 8 x 8). In both size and morphology, our Paleodictyon traces were more similar to the Australian examples than to those from the Mid-Atlantic Ridge.