Distraction sinking and fossilized coleoid predatory behaviour from the German Early Jurassic
Klug C, Schweigert G, Fuchs D, de Baets K (2021)
Publication Type: Journal article
Publication year: 2021
Journal
Book Volume: 140
Article Number: 7
Journal Issue: 1
DOI: 10.1186/s13358-021-00218-y
Abstract
Exceptional fossil preservation is required to conserve soft-bodied fossils and even more so to conserve their behaviour. Here, we describe a fossil of a co-occurrence of representatives of two different octobrachian coleoid species. The fossils are from the Toarcian Posidonienschiefer of Ohmden near Holzmaden, Germany. The two animals died in the act of predation, i.e. one had caught the other and had begun to nibble on it, when they possibly sank into hypoxic waters and suffocated (distraction sinking). This supports the idea that primitive vampyromorphs pursued diverse feeding strategies and were not yet adapted to being opportunistic feeders in oxygen minimum zones like their modern relative Vampyroteuthis.
Authors with CRIS profile
Involved external institutions
Staatliches Museum für Naturkunde Stuttgart (SMNS)
Germany (DE)
Bayerische Staatssammlung für Paläontologie und Geologie
Germany (DE)
University of Zurich / Universität Zürich (UZH)
Switzerland (CH)
Germany (DE)
Bayerische Staatssammlung für Paläontologie und Geologie
Germany (DE)
University of Zurich / Universität Zürich (UZH)
Switzerland (CH)
How to cite
APA:
Klug, C., Schweigert, G., Fuchs, D., & de Baets, K. (2021). Distraction sinking and fossilized coleoid predatory behaviour from the German Early Jurassic. Swiss Journal of Palaeontology, 140(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s13358-021-00218-y
MLA:
Klug, Christian, et al. "Distraction sinking and fossilized coleoid predatory behaviour from the German Early Jurassic." Swiss Journal of Palaeontology 140.1 (2021).
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