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The Influence Of Spines On Predation Of Devonian Brachiopods, Broc S. Kokesh
The Influence Of Spines On Predation Of Devonian Brachiopods, Broc S. Kokesh
Undergraduate Research Symposium 2015
Brachiopods are small animals that live on the seafloor and are prominent in the Devonian fossil record from 420 to 360 million years ago. An interesting feature of some species is that large spines develop on their exterior surfaces and are thought to have evolved for defense against predators. Fortunately, this hypothesis can be tested by observing wound marks indicative of attempted predation as described by Zhang et al. (2011). In this study, I examined wound marks on fossils of the spiny brachiopod Atrypa rockfordensis and the spineless Atrypa devoniana. Results show that A. rockfordensis only experienced attacks at …