Taphonomy of Logs Bored withTeredolites longissimusKelly and Bromley in the Danian (Lower Paleocene) of West Greenland

The boring Teredolites longissimus Kelly and Bromley is recorded infesting silicified logs in the Fossil Wood Member, Kangilia Formation (Lower Danian, Paleocene) of West Greenland. There are two morphologies of T. longissimus, probably representing two different episodes of invasion of the wood. The initial borings of Morphology 1 are large, deformed to an elliptical section, and confined to a direction of boring parallel to sub-parallel to the wood grain. Morphology 2 borings are less common, narrower and shorter, sinuous, markedly crosscut the grain of the wood and, where preserved intact, retain their circular cross-section. They were a later infestation than Morphology 1. Following the infestation by Morphology 1, the logs were deformed, probably by weight of overburden, and then reworked, when some of them were infested by Morphology 2 producers. Final burial was followed by brittle collapse of some Morphology 2 borings and lithification before further deformation could occur. The occurrence of T. longissimus in deeper water deposits close to a land mass with a steep slope indicates that transport in the marine realm was minimal before waterlogging.