Paleontologists and biologists generally utilize different lines of evidence and approaches to study, conceptualize and categorize animal behaviour, which has led to a divide between the two disciplines and lack of integration of their data. Numerous filters impact the preservation of behaviour in the fossil record. Here, we utilize 13 broad categories of behaviour representing the range of modern studies of animal behaviour and assess how they are represented in the fossil record. The data summarized in an existing compilation of ‘fossil behaviours’ is used to estimate the relative occurrence of each category. We also examine the taxonomic coverage of fossil animal behaviour using the same source. We found that feeding and habitat selection-related behaviours were disproportionately represented. Examples of other behavioural categories, especially social ones, such as mating, communication or parenting were considerably rarer, whereas personality or play were not represented at all. Arthropods tended to be most well represented, including insects in amber, followed by vertebrates. Taxonomic coverage was overall fairly diverse. A broader literature search was used to identify the oldest paleontological evidence of each behavioural category. We found that most categories probably appeared by the end of the Cambrian radiation. Finally, we suggest that the preservation of behaviour in fossils can be estimated from first principles, such as the amount of time animals engage in a behaviour or which behaviours impact a substrate. Reconstructing the evolution of behaviour in deep time requires understanding how the fossil record captures behavioural information. We strongly encourage paleontologists and biologists studying behaviour to work together to help complete our understanding of animal behaviour across the entirety of its evolutionary history.

中文翻译：

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化石记录中动物行为的表征

古生物学家和生物学家通常利用不同的证据和方法来研究、概念化和分类动物行为，这导致了两个学科之间的鸿沟，并且缺乏数据的整合。许多过滤器会影响化石记录中行为的保存。在这里，我们利用代表现代动物行为研究范围的 13 大类行为，并评估它们在化石记录中的表现。现有“化石行为”汇编中汇总的数据用于估计每个类别的相对发生率。我们还使用相同的来源检查了化石动物行为的分类覆盖范围。我们发现与进食和栖息地选择相关的行为不成比例。其他行为类别的示例，尤其是交配、交流或育儿等社交方面的情况要少得多，而个性或游戏则根本没有表现出来。节肢动物往往表现得最好，包括琥珀中的昆虫，其次是脊椎动物。分类覆盖范围总体上相当多样化。使用更广泛的文献搜索来确定每个行为类别的最古老的古生物学证据。我们发现大多数类别可能出现在寒武纪辐射末期。最后，我们建议可以从第一原则估计化石中行为的保存，例如动物参与行为的时间或哪些行为会影响基质。重建深度时间的行为演变需要了解化石记录如何捕获行为信息。