Shallow Traces (Pits) in the Test of the Irregular Echinoid Echinocorys scutata Leske from the Chalk (Upper Cretaceous) of the United Kingdom

ABSTRACT

Specimens of epifaunal irregular echinoids in the Upper Cretaceous of northern Europe have been reported with patterns of circular, nonpenetrative parabolic pits, Oichnus paraboloides (Bromley), in the apical region. Specimens of Echinocorys scutata Leske from the Chalk at two sites in southeast England were commonly penetrated by this trace, generated by an indeterminate pit-forming organism. Pits commonly surround the apical system and, less commonly, occur within it; they occur preferentially anteriorly. Pits occur within plates, not along margins or sutures. Crosscutting of pits indicates that multiple spatfalls probably occurred. The host echinoid added new test plates adjacent to the apical system; thus, plates bearing O. paraboloides were moved abapically. The reduction in number of pits away from the apex, including those with echinoid tubercles reestablished on the base, indicates that, following death of an infester, the echinoid “reclaimed” and infilled them with calcite. The pit-former was most probably an unmineralized invertebrate that used E. scutata as a domicile which provided good access to food-rich currents for suspension feeding. Although the systematic position of the pit-former is unknown, similar infestations are known from other Upper Cretaceous echinoids and Mississippian crinoids.

KEYWORDS:

• Borings
• Paleoecology
• Oichnus paraboloides
• Site selectivity

Acknowledgments

We thank Dr. Paul D. Taylor (the Natural History Museum, London) for suggesting this collaboration. The review comments of Dr. Tomasz Borszcz (Polish Academy of Sciences, Sopot) were particularly constructive and informative—thanks, Tom.