Just a different place to graze? An unusual occurrence of the echinoid feeding trace Gnathichnus pentax on a marine vertebrate coprolite (Miocene, Italy) and its palaeoethological implications

• Published in: Carnets de géologie (Notebooks on geology)
• Main Authors: Collareta A., Peri E., Godfrey S. J., Bianucci G.
• Other Authors: Collareta, A., Peri, E., Godfrey, S. J., Bianucci, G.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: 2022
• Subjects: bromalite; coprophagy; Echinodermata; palaeoichnology; Pascichnia; Pietra leccese; sea urchin; Vertebrata; Antarctic; Burrows; Antarc*
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/11568/1184947; https://doi.org/10.2110/carnets.2022.2220; http://paleopolis.rediris.es/cg/22/20/index.html

Faeces produced by marine vertebrates and macro-invertebrates contain sufficient organic matter to represent a usable food source for a wide array of macroscopic animals. In some extant marine environments, coprophagy even represents a crucial trophic interaction in food webs. In ancient ecosystems,...