Drilling predation on serpulid polychaetes (Ditrupa arietina) from the pliocene of the Cope Basin, Murcia Region, Southeastern Spain.

ABSTRACT: We report quantitative analyses of drilling predation on the free-living, tube-dwelling serpulid polychaete Ditrupa arietina from the Cope Cabo marine succession (Pliocene, Spain). Tubes of D. arietina are abundant in the sampled units: 9 bulk samples from 5 horizons yielded ~5925 specimens of D. arietina. Except for fragmentation, tubes were well preserved. Complete specimens ranged from 3.1 to 13.4 mm in length and displayed allometric growth patterns, with larger specimens being relatively slimmer. Drilled Ditrupa tubes were observed in all samples. Drillholes, identified as Oichnus paraboloides, were characterized by circular to elliptical outline (drillhole eccentricity increased with its diameter), parabolic vertical profile, outer diameter larger than inner diameter, penetration of

SUBMITTER: Martinell J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3320621 | biostudies-literature | 2012

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature