Gastropod parasitism on Late Cretaceous to Early Paleocene holasteroid echinoids — Evidence from Oichnus halo isp. n.

The new combined attachment and feeding trace fossil Oichnus halo isp. n. is described from oral surfaces of Campanian and Danian Echinocorys tests. It shows striking conformity with traces produced by Recent eulimid gastropods of the genus Thyca parasitising the asteroid Linckia laevigata. The trace is characterised by a central penetration surrounded by the eponymous circular groove. The occurrence of Oichnus halo isp. n. in the Campanian is contemporaneous with the first appearance of eulimid gastropods in the fossil record and indicates that the eulimid–echinoderm parasitic interaction was already established in the Late Cretaceous.