第4届国际遗迹学大会于2016年5月6日—9日在葡萄牙新伊达尼亚世界地质公园召开。从会议报告、展板、论文摘要集和野外地质考察可以看出:遗迹化石与沉积环境分析及遗迹化石的系统古生物学是当前遗迹学研究的热门领域,新概念和跨学科的研究方法将是未来遗迹学发展的重要推动力。对比表明,中国学者在遗迹化石的系统分类学、陆相遗迹化石以及新遗迹学领域研究较为薄弱。笔者认为,注重遗迹化石在地质突变期中的分析、发展新遗迹学、加强四足动物及鸟类足迹的研究,将是近期国内遗迹学的主要研究方向。
The Fourth International Congress on Ichnology was held at the UNESCO Naturtejo Global Geopark,Idanha-a-Nova,Portugal during May 6-9,2016. Based on the oral presentations,posters,abstracts and field study,the palaeobiology of trace fossils,and trace fossils and sedimentary environment analysis are the current topic research areas. The application of new conceptual tools and methods,especially the multidisciplinary ideas will greatly promote the development of ichnology. Comparison shows that ichnologists in China rarely focus on ichnotaxonomy,continental trace fossils and neoichnology. The au-thors suggest that three breakthrough directions possibly come from more attentions paid to trace fossils in biotic and environmental events,neoichnology,and reptile tracks and avialan footprints.