Predation of late Marjuman (Cambrian) linguliformean brachiopods from the Deadwood Formation of South Dakota, USA

One hundred and twenty-five linguliformean brachiopods of late Marjuman (Cambrian) age with shell perforations, presumably caused by predation, were recovered from shallow-water limestones at two localities of the Deadwood Formation in the Black Hills of South Dakota, USA. Three-quarters of the perforated valves belonged to taxa in the order Acrotretida, while one-quarter of the specimens belonged to those of the order Lingulida. This is the first report of predation of fossil lingulids. In both orders there was a marked selection for valve type. Ninety-five per cent of all perforations of acrotretids were in the ventral valve, while 87% of all perforations of lingulids were in the dorsal valve. The highest rate of predation of collected acrotretids, at any stratigraphic horizon, was 22%, while the rate of predation of collected lingulids, at any given stratigraphic horizon, was as high as 9%. Half of the perforated valves had round holes with a sharp, non-beveled exterior edge, and half had irregularly shaped holes with chipped interior edges. The former type is attributed to either boring or a swift, piercing percussive strike, while the latter is attributed to a smashing percussive strike with a blunt appendage. A third type of perforation consisting of minute, roughly circular holes is thought to be too small to be the work of predators, and is assumed to be the result of an encrusting organism or parasite. The different types of perforation seen in the brachiopod valves indicate that there was more than one type of predator attacking them, including possibly one of the earliest durophages. Various hypothetical predators are suggested as potential candidates for causing the shell perforations. The criteria for their selection as possible linguliformean predators include possessing the ability to produce one of the two types of shell perforation, and being small enough to warrant preying on small (< 2 mm) brachiopods.