The fauna of the Rhynie chert is far less abundant than the flora, and many of the animals are known from only a few specimens that were fortuitously trapped in the hot-spring sinter. However, when a block of chert containing animals is found, they can be quite common. Thus the distribution of animal fossils is very patchy in the chert deposits.
Recently, by careful examination of the Windyfield chert, several new animals have been discovered at Rhynie. Some are described by Anderson and Trewin (2003), Dunlop et al. (2003), Fayers and Trewin (2003), and others are currently being described. The fauna includes arthropods that lived in both terrestrial and freshwater environments. With recent additions to the faunal list, the Rhynie fauna is now the most diverse associated freshwater and terrestrial fauna known from the Devonian and earlier periods of geological time.
Click here for a general list of the fauna together with illustrations.
Arthropods
Click on the group name for detailed descriptions of the animals and their palaeoecology.