Classical and new bioerosion trace fossils in Cretaceous belemnite guards characterised via micro-CT

Wisshak, Max; Titschack, Jürgen; Kahl, Wolf‐Achim; Girod, Peter

doi:10.5194/fr-20-173-2017

Cited by 24 publications

(20 citation statements)

References 64 publications

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“…The fan-shaped fossils may be also somewhat similar with respect to their size and general appearance to the ichnotaxon Dendrina of a rosette morphology, such as Dendrina dendrina or Dendrina belemniticola. However, in closer inspection the 'branches' (galleries) of the latter species are more irregular and loosely arranged (see, e.g., Wisshak 2017;Wisshak et al 2017). Moreover, it is a bioerosion trace and hence produced within the lithic substrate by a boring organism, while the fan-shaped fossils from the Upper Devonian discussed herein are remnants of body fossils left by encrusting organisms.…”

Section: Comparisons and Affinities Of The Fossilsmentioning

confidence: 89%

Enigmatic encrusting fossils from the Upper Devonian of Russia: probable Rothpletzella microproblematica preserved in three dimensions

Zatoń

Jarochowska

2018

Historical Biology

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Intriguing microfossils encrusting certain Upper Devonian brachiopod shells from the Central Devonian Field, Russia, are reported for the first time. The fossils are pyritized, have fan-shaped morphologies and are formed by tightly-packed branches which divide dichotomously at different points in their development. The organisms preserved grew horizontally on shelly substrates. Comparisons with similar fossils known from the literature indicate that they do not represent any animal taxon commonly encrusting hard substrates. Instead, the morphology, organization and growth mode of these fossils are most similar to microfossils known under the name Rothpletzella, which so far have only been known from thin sections. Rothpletzella is a problematicum for which algal affinities have been proposed. The preserved branches of the fossils described here are too large for cyanobacterial cells. Their large size suggests their placement, along with other described Rothpletzella fossils, within the green algae order Bryopsidales. It is suggested that originally, these organisms 2 possessed thalli encased within a thin, delicate calcified sheath. After burial the thalli underwent pyritization via sulphate reduction mediated by bacterial activity within low pH, dysoxic microenvironment, and their sheath dissolved. As three-dimensionally preserved, these algae provide a new, previously unrecognized, component within the Devonian encrusting communities.

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Section: Comparisons and Affinities Of The Fossilsmentioning

confidence: 89%

Enigmatic encrusting fossils from the Upper Devonian of Russia: probable Rothpletzella microproblematica preserved in three dimensions

Zatoń

Jarochowska

2018

Historical Biology

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“…Recent technological advances can be adopted by paleontologists for identifying predators from trace fossils. For example, the advancement in 3D-imaging technology may allow for more precise descriptions of predatory traces in prey remains (e.g., Micro-CT and X-Ray imaging; Kiel et al, 2010;Sutton, 2008;Wisshak et al, 2017) that can be linked to particular predators. For example, microrasp marks in the vertical walls of drill holes attributed to scraping by radular teeth of muricid gastropods have been recorded in modern and fossil shells (Schiffbauer et al, 2008;Tyler and Schiffbauer, 2012).…”

Section: Identifying the Predatormentioning

confidence: 99%

Predation in the marine fossil record: Studies, data, recognition, environmental factors, and behavior

Klompmaker

Kelley

Chattopadhyay

et al. 2019

Earth-Science Reviews

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The fossil record is the primary source of data used to study predator-prey interactions in deep time and to evaluate key questions regarding the evolutionary and ecological importance of predation. Here, we review the types of paleontological data used to infer predation in the marine fossil record, discuss strengths and limitations of paleontological lines of evidence used to recognize and evaluate predatory activity, assess the influence of environmental gradients on predation patterns, and review fossil evidence for predator behavior and prey defense. We assembled a predation database from the literature that documents a steady increase in the number of papers on predation since the 1960s. These studies have become increasingly quantitative and have expanded in focus from reporting cases of predation documented by fossils to using the fossil record of predation to test ecological and evolutionary hypotheses. The data on the fossil record of predation amassed so far in the literature primarily come from trace fossils, mostly drill holes and, to a lesser extent, repair scars, derived predominantly from the Cenozoic of Europe and North America. Mollusks are the clade most often studied as prey and inferred predators. We discuss how to distinguish biotic from abiotic damage and predatory from parasitic traces, and how to recognize failed predation. Our data show that identifying the predator is easiest when predator and prey are preserved in the act of predation or when predators were fossilized with their gut contents preserved. However, determining the culprits responsible for bite traces, drill holes, and other types of predation traces can be more problematic.Taphonomic and other factors can distort patterns of predation, but their potential effects can be minimized by careful study design. With the correct identification and quantification of fossilized traces of predation, ecological trends in predator-prey interactions may be discerned along environmental gradients in water depth, habitat, and oxygen and nutrient availability.However, so far, these trends have not been explored adequately for the fossil record. We also

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“…A wider utilization of computed tomography in paleontological studies started in the early 1980s, when the medical technology of x-ray computed tomography was first applied to vertebrate fossils (Conroy and Vannier, 1984;Tate and Cann, 1982). Its intensive application continued through the beginning of the twenty-first century, with an increasing number of papers focusing on fossil plants (Friis et al, 2015;Mays et al, 2017), trace fossils (Beuck et al, 2008;Schönberg and Shields, 2008;Tapanila, 2008;Wisshak et al, 2017), and animals (e.g., Abel et al, 2012;Donoghue et al, 2006;Görög et al, 2012;Kachovich et al, 2019;Kellner et al, 2019;Pleissis and Broeckhoven, 2019). Additionally, some papers compared the permeability of x-rays in different types of rocks (Carlson et al, 2003).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Additionally, some papers compared the permeability of x-rays in different types of rocks (Carlson et al, 2003). Micro-CT is now being applied in several studies focusing on bioerosion of recent and fossil shell materials (Amon et al, 2015;Beuck et al, 2008;Färber et al, 2016;Wisshak et al, 2017). The recent enormous growth of its use in paleontological studies is mainly due to the increasing availability of relatively affordable micro-CT devices.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…There are many papers applying and discussing micro-CT as a suitable method for bioerosion analysis. For example, advanced segmentation techniques and their use for morphometric analyses were presented on an example of Cretaceous belemnite (Wisshak et al, 2017); the 'ambient occlusion' algorithm was tested by (Titschack et al, 2018) as the segmentation tool of choice for bioerosion analyses; the application of CT volume data for computing bioerosion rates was presented by Färber et al (2016); and the CT processing technique, previously tested in coral research, was applied to facilitate the characterization of the ichnological signature of cores from modern marine soft sediments by Dorador et al (2020).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Benefits and limits of x-ray micro-computed tomography for visualization of colonization and bioerosion of shelled organisms

Heřmanová¹,

Bruthansová²,

Holcová³

et al. 2020

Palaeontol Electron

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Micro-computed tomography (micro-CT) allows non-invasive imaging of internal structures of various objects. Micro-CT devices (x-ray microscope, CT scanner) utilize x-rays to see inside the object and enable its three-dimensional (3D) reconstruction. Here, a large set of shells (>60 specimens) of varying composition and origin were visualized using micro-CT to test its efficiency for investigation of (micro-)borings and other colonization structures. The set covered various materials and structures of marine shells, from the Ordovician to recent, some of them being influenced by diagenetic changes; it comprised internal moulds of invertebrate body fossils preserved in the siliceous nodules, bryozoan colony from marls to clayey limestones, epibiontic interactions of bryozoan colonies and conulariid specimens with apatitic periderm from clay limestones sediments, calcareous shells of platycerid gastropods from organodetritic limestones, microborings in peloidal grainstone, calcitic or calcitic/aragonitic serpulid tube worms, organic-walled lacustrine egg-like bodies, and recent foraminiferas from the Mediterranean. We focused on various structures from minute microborings to macroborings, burrows, and epibionts. Optimal settings of micro-CT devices for different types of shells combined with different types of borings and their fillings, burrows, and epibionts are suggested. Three-dimensional visualization of the surfaces of fossil shelled organisms using surface modelling is proposed. The main benefits of micro-CT include its non-destructive nature (measurements can be repeated, valuable specimens can be preserved for further studies, etc.) and reasonable 3D visualization of inner structures. On the other hand, resolutions of less than 1 µm cannot be effectively achieved, and this may limit studies on microborings by bacteria and certain fungi.

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Classical and new bioerosion trace fossils in Cretaceous belemnite guards characterised via micro-CT

Abstract: Abstract. The ongoing technical revolution in nondestructive 3

Cited by 24 publications

References 64 publications

Enigmatic encrusting fossils from the Upper Devonian of Russia: probable Rothpletzella microproblematica preserved in three dimensions

Enigmatic encrusting fossils from the Upper Devonian of Russia: probable Rothpletzella microproblematica preserved in three dimensions

Predation in the marine fossil record: Studies, data, recognition, environmental factors, and behavior

Benefits and limits of x-ray micro-computed tomography for visualization of colonization and bioerosion of shelled organisms

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