Asteriacites

Asteriacites is a type of five-rayed trace fossil found in marine sedimentary rocks. It records the burrows of ophiuroid and asteroid sea stars on the sea floor. Asteriacites is found in European and American rocks, from the Ordovician period onwards, and is especially numerous in the Triassic and Jurassic systems.

Dense assemblages of Asteriacites ('Asteriacites beds') are considered proxies for marine settings, low bioturbation intensity, shallow tiering, high sedimentation rate and/or event-bed deposition, significant levels of hydrodynamic energy, and low predation pressure.