Boring predation and Mesozoic articulate brachiopods

A systematic survey of all the Mesozoic brachiopods in the large collections of the Sedgwick Museum (Cambridge University) has revealed more than 213 predatory boreholes from a wide range of largely British localities. It seems likely that this type of predation was not infrequent, at least locally, as evidenced by the proportion of bored valves at some localities and the degree of stereotypy shown in borehole positioning. The size of the boreholes and their neat circular cross sections suggest that they were made by large, epifaunal predators using chemical attack and those of post-Albian age may be comfortably (if not confidentally) assigned to muricid gastropods. Although it is likely that bivalves, with their greater flesh yields, were the preferred prey item in most Mesozoic shelly benthic communities, it is apparent that boring predators may have resulted in a significant predation pressure on articulate brachiopods.