Have you ever been embarassed when you went to an international meeting and while discussing your favorite subject (ichnology), you mispronounced one of the ichnology terms so badly that one of your idols in ichnology (probably me) laughed out loud? Now you do not ever have to worry about this sordid scenario ever happening to you, with my pronounciation and definition guide to terms in ichnology.
The purpose of this pronouciation and definition guide is to help geologists and paleontologists (both professional and amateurs) with approximating the correct pronounciation of the numerous and often esoteric terms in ichnology and understanding what you said. Ichnology, like many subdivisions within paleontology and geology, has developed its own terms that are exchanged freely in conversation and articles by ichnologists but are rarely understood by those outside of ichnology. Likewise, foreign speakers who have never heard the names of some ichnogenera may have little clue about how to pronounce some of these names (e.g., Zoophycos, Schaubcylindrichnus).
Terms have been defined according to my understanding and will, in some cases, reflect the definitions held by my former Ph.D. advisor, Robert W. Frey (deceased). Nevertheless, I will update definitions that reflect more current thinking in ichnology if you or others convince me that these changes are warranted.
Pronouciations are mostly of ichnogenera names and were recorded as audio files in AIF format (for the Macinstosh) and WAV (for PC-Windows). This current document has only AIF files but I will be adding WAV versions next. My American-Midwestern accent is the standard for these files but realize that British speakers will have slightly different intonations. The American accent typically has emphasis on the second-to-last syllable (e.g., Oph-i-o-MOR-pha) but speakers of languages that do not have appreciable differences in tones, such as Japanese, may not reflect such emphases.
For a good up-to-date glossary of ichnology terms, I would recommend the one in Richard Bromley's (1990) book, Trace Fossils: Biology and Taphonomy, Unwin Hyman, London, p. 266-271. Richard has recently informed me that the new edition of his book will be coming out in March, 1996.
My glossary here will include terms already defined in the What is Ichnology section, so you might want to review that section first for a general understanding of the terminology.