Predation by the Ordovician asteroid Promopalaeaster on a pelecypod

DANIEL B. BLAKE, THOMAS E. GUENSBURG

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Blake, D.B. & Guensburg, T.E. 1994 10 15: Predation by the Ordovician asteroid Promopalaeaster on a pelecypod. An Ordovician Prornopalaeaster (Echinodermata: Asteroidea) wrapped about a Cuneamya? (Mol‐lusca: Pelecypoda) in the extraoral feeding posture characteristic of Jurassic to modern members of the Asteriidae documents an early origin for this behavioral complex. Modern asteriids are convergent on Promopalaeastet; there is no direct phylogenetic linkage between the two. This fossil occurrence, combined with the success of modem Asteriidae, demonstrates that biological evolution and geological change need not outmode complex life habits. The fossil supports the notion of asteroids as Paleozoic‐type predators, and its existence suggests that asteroids were not significant contributors to changing faunal structures in shelf seas during the Phanerozoic. Asteroidea, Pelecypoda, functional morphology, evolutionary ecology.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)235-239
Number of pages5
JournalLethaia
Volume27
Issue number3
DOIs
StatePublished - Sep 1994
Externally publishedYes

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics
  • Palaeontology

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Predation by the Ordovician asteroid Promopalaeaster on a pelecypod'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this