Inquilinism of a baculite by a dynomenid crab from the Upper Cretaceous of South Dakota

Title Variants

Alternative: Crab inquiline in a baculite

Related Titles

Series: American Museum novitates, no. 3818

By

Landman, Neil H.

Fraaije, René H. B.
Klofak, Susan M.
Larson, Neal L.
Bishop, Gale A.
Kruta, Isabelle

Type

Book

Material

Published material

Publication info

New York, NY American Museum of Natural History [2014]

Notes

Caption title.

"November 6, 2014."

We describe a small crab inside the phragmocone of a heteromorph cephalopod Baculites sp. smooth from the Gammon Ferruginous Member (lower Campanian) of the Pierre Shale in Butte County, South Dakota. The crab Ferricorda kimberlyae (Bishop, 1987) is well preserved with its carapace and pereiopods parallel to and between two septa of the phragmocone. Because of its superb preservation, the specimen is unlikely to have been washed into the phragmocone. The crab probably retreated into the phragmocone chamber to avoid predation or to molt and was subsequently buried by an influx of rapid sedimentation. This is the first instance of inquilinism by a crab in a heteromorph ammonite. Despite the rarity of such fossils, the occurrence of crabs inside ammonite shells was probably not uncommon on sea floors during the Mesozoic. Morphological details of the specimen reveal that Ferricorda is a dynomenid crab.

Subjects

Ammonoidea , Baculites , Baculitidae , Butte County , Cephalopoda, Fossil , Commensalism , Cretaceous , Crustacea, Fossil , Decapoda (Crustacea), Fossil , Ferricorda kimberlyae , Paleontology , Pierre Shale , South Dakota

Call Number

QL1 .A436 no.3818 2014

Language

English

Identifiers

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1206/3818.1
OCLC: 894530013