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The biological implications of an edrioasteroid attached to a pleurocystitid rhombiferan

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 July 2015

Colin D. Sumrall
Colin D. Sumrall*
Affiliation:
Frederick and Amey Geier Collections and Research Center, Cincinnati Museum Center, 1720 Gilbert Rd, Cincinnati OH 45202
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Abstract

The attachment of a small edrioasteroid to the nonperiproctal surface of a small specimen of the pleurocystitid rhombiferan Amecystis has implications for the life posture of pleurocystitids and indicates that Amecystis was epifaunal. Articulation of the preserved portions of both thecae indicates that the edrioasteroid and Amecystis were alive at or very near the time of burial and that the edrioasteroid used the Amecystis theca as an attachment surface. Other examples of edricasteroids attaching to live organisms are known suggesting that an edrioasteroid attached to a live rhombiferan is not highly unusual. The position of the edrioasteroid on the rhombiferan suggests that Amecystis was oriented with the anal side down in life and that this pleurocystitid was fully epifaunal.

Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Paleontology , Volume 74 , Issue 1 , January 2000 , pp. 67 - 71
Copyright
Copyright © The Paleontological Society 2000

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