Early parasitic drilling in a rhynchonelliform brachiopod Rongatrypa xichuanensis from the Katian (Upper Ordovician) of central China

Abstract

AbstractAn example of parasitic drilling in a rhynchonelliform brachiopod is described from the Shiyanhe Formation (Katian, Upper Ordovician) of Henan, central China. The boring extends into the shell almost perpendicular to the surface. The shell has been serially sectioned, and the trace (including boring and bioclaustration) has been modeled in three dimensions. Healing of the shell evident in serial sections supports a long-term relationship between the brachiopod and borer that we interpret as parasitic. Platyceratid gastropods, found at the same locality as these brachiopods, are the most likely drilling organism. Previous reports of Paleozoic brachiopod parasitic traces can be classified into two main groups, constructive association and destructive association, depending on whether parasites damage brachiopod shells. The example in this study belongs to the second type as the brachiopod shell has been partly damaged by the borer.