Pachycormid fish fed on octobrachian cephalopods: new evidence from the ‘Schistes bitumineux’ (early Toarcian) of southern Luxembourg
Abstract A re-examination of the early Toarcian fish fossils preserved in public paleontological collections in Luxembourg revealed 70 specimens of large Toarcian pachycormid fish with an excellent three-dimensional preservation within calcareous nodules. Six of them are associated with octobrachian...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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SpringerOpen
2024-02-01
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| Series: | Swiss Journal of Palaeontology |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1186/s13358-023-00295-1 |
| _version_ | 1797273369341591552 |
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| author | Robert Weis Dominique Delsate Christian Klug Thodoris Argyriou Dirk Fuchs |
| author_facet | Robert Weis Dominique Delsate Christian Klug Thodoris Argyriou Dirk Fuchs |
| author_sort | Robert Weis |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract A re-examination of the early Toarcian fish fossils preserved in public paleontological collections in Luxembourg revealed 70 specimens of large Toarcian pachycormid fish with an excellent three-dimensional preservation within calcareous nodules. Six of them are associated with octobrachian coleoid gladii in their oesophagus or stomach, an association not previously described from Luxembourg. The pachycormids are ascribed to Pachycormus macropterus (Blainville, 1818) and Saurostomus esocinus Agassiz, 1843 while the octobrachian gladii are ascribed to Teudopsis bollensis Voltz, 1836, Teudopsis sp. indet. and Loligosepiidae indet. The position and orientation of the gladii provide direct evidence of these fishes feeding on coleoids and thus a teuthophagous diet, rather than an accidental joint burial. Together with evidence from coeval deposits in Germany, these findings suggest that teuthophagy was a widespread feeding strategy at the base of the clade that contains the suspension-feeding pachycormid giants of the Jurassic–Cretaceous. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-07T14:42:24Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-16bfd3f41368412d83e9f7251b826c9b |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1664-2376 1664-2384 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-07T14:42:24Z |
| publishDate | 2024-02-01 |
| publisher | SpringerOpen |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Swiss Journal of Palaeontology |
| spelling | doaj.art-16bfd3f41368412d83e9f7251b826c9b2024-03-05T20:09:21ZengSpringerOpenSwiss Journal of Palaeontology1664-23761664-23842024-02-01143111610.1186/s13358-023-00295-1Pachycormid fish fed on octobrachian cephalopods: new evidence from the ‘Schistes bitumineux’ (early Toarcian) of southern LuxembourgRobert Weis0Dominique Delsate1Christian Klug2Thodoris Argyriou3Dirk Fuchs4Musée National d’histoire Naturelle, LuxembourgMusée National d’histoire Naturelle, LuxembourgDepartment of Palaeontology, University of ZurichDepartment of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Paleontology & Geobiology, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität MünchenBayerische Staatssammlung Für Paläontologie Und GeologieAbstract A re-examination of the early Toarcian fish fossils preserved in public paleontological collections in Luxembourg revealed 70 specimens of large Toarcian pachycormid fish with an excellent three-dimensional preservation within calcareous nodules. Six of them are associated with octobrachian coleoid gladii in their oesophagus or stomach, an association not previously described from Luxembourg. The pachycormids are ascribed to Pachycormus macropterus (Blainville, 1818) and Saurostomus esocinus Agassiz, 1843 while the octobrachian gladii are ascribed to Teudopsis bollensis Voltz, 1836, Teudopsis sp. indet. and Loligosepiidae indet. The position and orientation of the gladii provide direct evidence of these fishes feeding on coleoids and thus a teuthophagous diet, rather than an accidental joint burial. Together with evidence from coeval deposits in Germany, these findings suggest that teuthophagy was a widespread feeding strategy at the base of the clade that contains the suspension-feeding pachycormid giants of the Jurassic–Cretaceous.https://doi.org/10.1186/s13358-023-00295-1Toarcian food webPredator–prey relationshipPachycormidaeLoligosepiidaeTeudopsiidaeToarcian Oceanic Anoxic Event |
| spellingShingle | Robert Weis Dominique Delsate Christian Klug Thodoris Argyriou Dirk Fuchs Pachycormid fish fed on octobrachian cephalopods: new evidence from the ‘Schistes bitumineux’ (early Toarcian) of southern Luxembourg Swiss Journal of Palaeontology Toarcian food web Predator–prey relationship Pachycormidae Loligosepiidae Teudopsiidae Toarcian Oceanic Anoxic Event |
| title | Pachycormid fish fed on octobrachian cephalopods: new evidence from the ‘Schistes bitumineux’ (early Toarcian) of southern Luxembourg |
| title_full | Pachycormid fish fed on octobrachian cephalopods: new evidence from the ‘Schistes bitumineux’ (early Toarcian) of southern Luxembourg |
| title_fullStr | Pachycormid fish fed on octobrachian cephalopods: new evidence from the ‘Schistes bitumineux’ (early Toarcian) of southern Luxembourg |
| title_full_unstemmed | Pachycormid fish fed on octobrachian cephalopods: new evidence from the ‘Schistes bitumineux’ (early Toarcian) of southern Luxembourg |
| title_short | Pachycormid fish fed on octobrachian cephalopods: new evidence from the ‘Schistes bitumineux’ (early Toarcian) of southern Luxembourg |
| title_sort | pachycormid fish fed on octobrachian cephalopods new evidence from the schistes bitumineux early toarcian of southern luxembourg |
| topic | Toarcian food web Predator–prey relationship Pachycormidae Loligosepiidae Teudopsiidae Toarcian Oceanic Anoxic Event |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1186/s13358-023-00295-1 |
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