Taphonomy and palaeoecology of the gastropod fauna from a Late Cretaceous rocky shore, Sweden

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A gastropod fauna comprising 17 species, each represented by a limited number of specimens, is described from a Late Cretaceous, late early Campanian rocky shore at Ivö Klack, southern Sweden. The gastropod fauna is associated with the most diverse ancient rocky shore fauna ever found. However, the low gastropod species diversity compared to the faunas of modern rocky shores is ascribed to taphonomic factors, notably dissolution of the aragonitic shells, but the predominance of epifaunal herbivores is indicative of a guild structure similar to that found on modern rocky shores. The presence of drill holes assigned to the ichnospecies Oichnus simplex suggests the former presence of muricid gastropods which have not been found as body fossils. A single drill hole is referred to Oichnus paraboloides and was probably made by a naticid gastropod. The infaunal mode of life of naticids makes preservation of such drill holes difficult, since the majority of infaunal prey such as burrowing bivalves has aragonitic shells which are not preserved. The relatively high number of species in comparison to many other Late Cretaceous rocky shore faunas, offers an opportunity to compare gastropod guild structure at Ivö Klack
with modern counterparts, even though taphonomic processes such as echanical destruction and aragonite dissolution have played an important role in the fossil gastropod assemblage.
OriginalsprogEngelsk
TidsskriftCretaceous Research
Vol/bind32
Udgave nummer4
Sider (fra-til)472-479
Antal sider8
ISSN0195-6671
DOI
StatusUdgivet - aug. 2011

ID: 33967174