Symbiosis in the Cambrian: enteropneust tubes from the Burgess Shale co-inhabited by commensal polychaetes.

ABSTRACT: The in situ preservation of animal behaviour in the fossil record is exceedingly rare, but can lead to unique macroecological and macroevolutionary insights, especially regarding early representatives of major animal clades. We describe a new complex ecological relationship from the middle Cambrian Burgess Shale (Raymond Quarry, Canada). More than 30 organic tubes were recorded with multiple enteropneust and polychaete worms preserved within them. Based on the tubicolous nature of fossil enteropneusts, we suggest that they were the tube builders while the co-preserved polychaetes were commensals. These findings mark, to our knowledge, the first record of commensalism within Annelida and Hemichordata in the entire fossil record. The finding of multiple enteropneusts sharing common tu

SUBMITTER: Nanglu K 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8150028 | biostudies-literature | 2021 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature