2025/03/15 by Olev Vinn, Abdullah A. Alkahtane, Saleh Alfarraj +1 · 1 voice
Agricultural and Biological Sciences · Earth and Planetary Sciences · #Cephalopods and Marine Biology #Paleontology and Evolutionary Biology #Paleontology and Stratigraphy of Fossils
paper · pdf · doi:10.4072/rbp.2024.4.0475
openalex publication_date 2025/03/15 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/31
Bioclaustrations are extremely rare in the rugose corals from the Ordovician of Estonia. A specimen of Kenophyllum subcylindricum from the Vormsi Regional Stage (Katian) contains multiple shafts of Chaetosalpinx siberiensis?. The latter bioclaustration also occurs in the Pirgu Regional Stage (Katian). The growth lines of the host coral show a reaction to the infesting organism, suggesting that the shafts in the calyx are bioclaustrations and not post-mortem borings (Trypanites). The worm-like Chaetosalpinx tracemaker initially caused damage to the coral’s soft tissues and used the coral’s resources to build its domicile, resulting in a negative impact. The symbiotic worms benefited from having a domicile and protection against predators from the host’s nematocysts. Chaetosalpinx siberiensis?-Kenophyllum subcylindricum association was likely parasitic. Keywords: symbiosis, rugosans, worms, parasites, Katian, Estonia.