Ichnology is the branch of paleontology that deals with the study of footprints left by animal organisms. Ichnology thus studies the width, length and shapes of footprints, stride (the distance between each one), the depth, possible asymmetries and more, in order to establish the size of the the animals, their characteristic forms and habits.     The positioning of the footprints as well contains important information regarding the movement and pace. Just think of a horse's footprints and the difference between a trot and a gallop.