Drilling predation traces on recent limpets from northern Patagonia, Argentina

Abstract

In this study we analyze the predator-prey relationship between muricid gastropods (mainly Trophon geversianus) and the limpets Nacella magellanica, Fissurella radiosa, Diodora patagonica and Siphonaria lessoni from recent mollusk death assemblages at Puerto Lobos (41°59’54.2’’ S), on the Atlantic coast of northern Patagonia. The majority of the drill holes fit the ichnospecies Oichnus simplex Bromley, 1981. In five cases the holes resemble Oichnus ovalis Bromley (1983), attributable to octopuses. In analyses of O. simplex, the drilling frequency of the whole mollusk assemblage was 4.72%, which is higher than for N. magellanica (3.97%) and for all limpet specimens together (1.57%). Drillings were site-selective in the apical sector of the shell, with a notable and statistically significant preference for the U-shaped muscle scar. There is also some evidence of selective predation with respect to size, although the pattern is not strong. The low drilling frequencies on limpets compared to mussels coincide with the general idea that muricid gastropods have a strong preference for sessile prey, due to their inability to handle mobile items. The quantitative incidence of drilling predation on limpets varies considerably between published examples and within the different species of prey studied. The absence of records of drilling predation on fossil limpets remains partially unexplained, except for the fact that limpets are rarely preserved in the fossil record, thus reducing the probability of finding drilled specimens, plus the low frequency in which muricids choose limpet prey for drilling. This is the first study in South America centered on this biotic interaction.