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The evolution of bone-eating worm diversity in the Upper Cretaceous Chalk Group of the United Kingdom
Jamison-Todd, Sarah Tangunan, Deborah Chandler, Kim Bown, Paul Twitchett, Richard J
Jamison-Todd, Sarah
Tangunan, Deborah
Chandler, Kim
Bown, Paul
Twitchett, Richard J
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2025-04-23
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The bone-eating worm <jats:italic>Osedax</jats:italic> is today a member of the highly adapted invertebrate assemblages associated with whale carcasses on the ocean floor. The worm has also been found in a variety of other vertebrates in marine environments. <jats:italic>Osedax</jats:italic> borings are represented by the trace fossil <jats:italic>Osspecus</jats:italic>, which has been identified in fossil whales and marine reptiles, with the earliest occurrence in the Albian. In studies of present-day whale bones it has been found that individual species of <jats:italic>Osedax</jats:italic> create distinct boring morphologies. The diversity of boring geometries therefore provides a proxy for species diversity that can be applied to the fossil record to better understand the diversity, ecology, and evolution of extinct <jats:italic>Osedax</jats:italic> species. We examined marine reptile fossils from the Upper Cretaceous Chalk Group of the United Kingdom, and found five previously undocumented boring morphologies. These results, coupled with a re-examination of previous records of <jats:italic>Osspecus,</jats:italic> led to the naming of seven new ichnospecies. Using nannofossil biostratigraphy from the chalk, we constrained the ages of these occurrences and found a high species diversity in the early Late Cretaceous, indicating either a rapid diversification or an earlier origin for <jats:italic>Osedax</jats:italic> than previously estimated. Furthermore, we recognise five Cretaceous ichnospecies that are also found in the Cenozoic, three of which are also found in present-day whale bones.
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Jamison-Todd S, Witts JD, Jones MEH, Tangunan D, Chandler K, Bown P, et al. (2025) The evolution of bone-eating worm diversity in the Upper Cretaceous Chalk Group of the United Kingdom. PLoS ONE 20(4): e0320945. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal. pone.0320945
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1932-6203
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1932-6203