neoichnology

Neoichnology (Greek néos „new“, íchnos „footprint“, logos „science“) is the science of footprints and traces of extant animals. Thus, it is a counterpart to paleoichnology, which investigates tracks and traces of fossil animals. Neoichnological methods are used in order to study the locomotion and the resulting tracks of both invertebrates and vertebrates. Often these methods are applied in the field of palaeobiology to gain a deeper understanding of fossilized footprints.