Show us your Devonian Epizoans & Pathological Brachiopods!

[Mediospirifer]

Here are a few micrographs of some areas of particular interest on the Mediospirifer specimen. (No, I don't have my new microscope yet. These areas were just cool enough that I wanted to photograph and post them now!)

 

First, a photo of the threadlike epibiont. I thik it is, indeed, Ascodictyon. Note the thread intersections with a stellate arrangement:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Next, we have some interaction between different species. I think the larger epibionts are all Hederella canadensis, with Ascodictyon threads. Note that the blob of Hederella at upper left is on top of the Ascodictyon, while the Hederella specimens at lower left and in the middle of the image have Ascodictyon growing across them. We have at least three different periods of growth, here!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In the next image, we have a specimen of H. filiformis growing across the base of the H. canadensis colony, with Ascodictyon threads crossing both! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In this next (last for now) image, we have the H. filiformis at lower left, and a damaged (I think) H. canadensis in the middle, both with strands of Ascodictyon crossing them. Yes, the H. canadensis died and became damaged before the Ascodictyon grew across it! This is a complex ecology to be carried on one little brachiopod. 

 

[Brach3]

18 hours ago, Crusty_Crab said:

I believe this is Aulopora sp. on a solitary rugose coral.

 wow! I like it. 

 

but I don't like an idea to use "Fenton's 1924 paper" (-100 years ago).

For understanding:  all these my 3 cases are not Aulopora sp., but Syringopora sp. 

  

but all books till 1970 years say me "it's Aulopora sp", but Sokolov's books from 1980 say me "it's Syringopora sp. "

because several "floors" of the corals 

 

And I think it's better to see more later books. I have some very interesting books about devonian D2 (NY) if you need I can send it.   

Do you have more examples to check my new version?

 

16 hours ago, Mediospirifer said:

The possible interactions between epibionts can be fascinating.

Yes!  very interesting " while a younger colony overlaps it vertically. Very cool!" 

 

@Mediospirifer and here I see a damage on the same stages.  

may be a predation, it's very interesting!

 

for home museum  @Crusty_Crab

 

7 hours ago, Mediospirifer said:

Here are a few micrographs of some areas

 

"We have at least three different periods of growth, here!"

Yes, fantastic! these cases can say us how it was and show a speed of growing.  

i've read that small epizoans grown more faster than brachiopods so we can see their interactions (damage of the brachiopod valve)  

but here we see "epizoans to epizoans" 

 

7 hours ago, Mediospirifer said:

This is a complex ecology to be carried on one little brachiopod. 

yes ans it's more interesting to see an interactions than the host (brachiopod)

i've just understood that i want a microscope too )))

[Crusty_Crab]

@Brach3 Fenton's monograph on the Lime Creek fauna is useful for the sheer scale and because its amply illustrated, but its certainly possible the taxonomy is outdated. Any references you would like to share would be greatly appreciated. I did a quick internet search and it looks like theres a paper from 1982 that lists auloporids, Hederella and other epibionts on brachiopods from this locality: https://scholarworks.uni.edu/pias/vol89/iss2/11/ 

 

13 hours ago, Brach3 said:

 

@Mediospirifer and here I see a damage on the same stages.  

may be a predation, it's very interesting!

 

for home museum  @Crusty_Crab

 

 

 

Good eye on the brachiopod damage, I didn't even notice those until you pointed them out!

[Mediospirifer]

4 hours ago, Crusty_Crab said:

Good eye on the brachiopod damage, I didn't even notice those until you pointed them out!

 

Neither did I, and I usually do notice such things! It looks to me as if a predator tried to bite, and cracked the shells, but failed to penetrate to the flesh--the ridges aren't noticeably distorted the way a clefted shell shows. This looks more like the damage I see on my Vinlandostrophia specimens than on my Glyptorthis. 

 

Can you post a photo of the other side of the brachiopod? I'm curious about how the scars look on that side.

 

Now I'm going to have to look at my Pseudoatrypa devoniana specimens for hinge-side damage! 

 

18 hours ago, Brach3 said:

i've just understood that i want a microscope too

 

 

Mine is a Stereozoom 4 by Bausch & Lomb, with a Celestron digital microscope that fits in place of an ocular. It's a good setup for basic work, but getting good micrographs of three-dimensional objects takes a lot of time and effort. Two of those images I posted above are composites of 15 or 16 different photos!

 

I like your photos of the modern epibiont communities. There are certainly a lot of different critters that like the same space! 

 

Looking at my Ascodictyon specimens, I have to wonder whether they might have been fungal growths. Are they still considered Incerta sedis, or has anyone assigned them to a larger group that is generally accepted?

 

 

[Brach3]

2 hours ago, Mediospirifer said:

cracked the shells, but failed to penetrate to the flesh

Yes, it looks like in this way.  We can suggest that it's water storm damage. we can see such damages but they are always from one side of brachiopods. But here we see two side damages. May be predator was young (very young) and couldn't destroy the valves. 

 

 

@Crusty_Crab if we want to have the exact answer we should find any more brachiopods from this field (place).

The old brachiopods can show many damages.

 

when i had found my first brachiopod with damage I only put it in black box, but when you have many cases you can build a hypothesis. I don't remember where and can't find a thread where эму posted all my photos with damages. About Cephalopod Predation (I think it's the same situation too).

 

2 hours ago, Mediospirifer said:

I'm going to have to look at my Pseudoatrypa

 

Yes it's a good idea. Atrypida usually have damages. I think "new" finds will be ahead )

 

7 hours ago, Crusty_Crab said:

Any references you would like to share would be greatly appreciated.

 

Ok. I've sent some already for @Mediospirifer 

i'll sent in the evening tomorrow. 

 

2 hours ago, Mediospirifer said:

I like your photos of the modern epibiont communities.

 it's the most interesting. here we can see "speed" of growing epizoans and brachiopods. 

 

p.s. going for a record!!! )))