title: Early Cambrian record of failed durophagy and shell repair in an epibenthic mollusc.
abstract: Predation is arguably one of the main driving forces of early metazoan evolution, yet the fossil record of predation during the Ediacaran-Early Cambrian transition is relatively poor. Here, we present direct evidence of failed durophagous (shell-breaking) predation and subsequent shell repair in the Early Cambrian (Botoman) epibenthic mollusc Marocella from the Mernmerna Formation and Oraparinna Shale in the Flinders Ranges, South Australia. This record pushes back the first appearance of durophagy on molluscs by approximately 40Myr.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Ecostratigraphy and Palaeobiology, Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Macquarie University, New South Wales 2109, Australia. christian.skovsted@geo.uu.se
authors.forename: Christian B
authors.initials: CB
authors.lastname: Skovsted
authors.forename: Glenn A
authors.initials: GA
authors.lastname: Brock
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lindström
authors.forename: John S
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Peel
authors.forename: John R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Paterson
authors.forename: Margaret K
authors.initials: MK
authors.lastname: Fuller
mesh_terms: D000825:Animal Structures / Q000473:pathology*; D000818:Animals; D005580:Fossils; D008974:Mollusca / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000502:physiology; D011235:Predatory Behavior / Q000502:physiology*