From the German spreiten, meaning ‘to spread out’ or ‘to extend’, sedimentary laminae that result from the behaviour of an animal during feeding, excavation, or locomotion. They may be U-shaped, sinuous, blade-like, or spiralled, and they are always repeated over a small area. They reflect the intensive working of sediment for food. Well-defined spreiten are associated with Diplocraterion, Rhizocorallium, and Daedalus. In the latter they are arranged spirally around a single trunk. See fugichnia.