Trilobite’s Mysterious Diet Revealed: Fossil Discovery Sheds Light on Ancient Creature’s Feeding Habits
In a groundbreaking discovery, researchers have unearthed the first-ever trilobite specimen that still contains evidence of its final meals. Trilobites, ancient marine arthropods that roamed the Earth’s oceans for approximately 250 million years, have left behind a rich fossil record. However, their basic biology, including their diet, has remained largely unknown until now.
The well-preserved trilobite, known as the Bohemian inhabitant trilobite, was found encased within siliceous pebbles called Rokycany Balls. Dating back an astonishing 465 million years, this specimen provided paleontologists with a unique opportunity to study the creature’s digestive system in exceptional 3D detail.
Upon closer inspection, the researchers spotted tightly packed shell fragments within the trilobite’s digestive system. Strikingly, these shells showed no signs of being dissolved, with their sharp edges still intact. This suggests that the trilobite’s digestive system was not acidic but instead neutral or basic along its entire length, akin to modern crustaceans and spiders.
Further examination revealed that the trilobite had a diverse diet, consisting of various benthic invertebrates that inhabited the sea floor during the Ordovician period. The most common shell fragments belonged to ostracods, small shrimp-like crustaceans that still exist today. The trilobite also feasted on hyolith conch snails, extinct starfish, sea urchin relatives called stylophora, and other thin-shelled animals believed to be bivalves.
“The non-selective feeding behavior of B. inhabitant suggests that it was predominantly an opportunistic scavenger,” the team of researchers wrote in their paper. They described the trilobite as a “light crusher and chance feeder” that would consume both dead and living animals that were either easily disintegrated or small enough to be swallowed whole.
The trilobite’s full digestive tract, as well as some distortions in its thorax, indicate that the creature may have been on the brink of molting. Arthropods, which include trilobites, need to shed their exoskeletons to grow, a process known as molting. Before molting, their digestive tracts often expand to help extricate the old exoskeleton and accommodate the new one.
Drawing parallels with modern crustaceans, the researchers suggest that the trilobite’s feeding behavior may have mirrored the corresponding life cycles of its contemporary relatives. However, they noted that most of the time, the trilobite’s intestine was either empty or moderately filled, with occasional and swift overfeeding actions pertaining to specialized physiological requirements.
The groundbreaking findings were published in the prestigious scientific journal Nature, providing a crucial glimpse into the enigmatic world of trilobite biology. With further research, scientists hope to unravel more mysteries surrounding these ancient creatures and gain a deeper understanding of their ecological roles within prehistoric ecosystems.