Tube-like worms found attached to 521 million-year-old mollusks are said to be the first parasites

Tube-like worms found attached to 521 million-year-old mollusks snatched food from the shell, which scientists say this is the first evidence of a parasitic relationship

  • Researchers find thousands of fossilized brachiopods in a Chinese quarry
  • The team discovered the shells once had tube-like worms attached to them
  • Experts say the worms clasped around the shell with its ‘mouth’ at the opening
  • It would intercept the  brachiopods’ food, making it a parasite
  • The fossils are 521 million years old and the first  parasitic relationship on record

Paleontologists have uncovered the first evidence of a parasitic relationship – 512 million-year-old thieving tube-like worms 

While excavating a quarry in China, researchers uncovered hundreds of ancient brachiopods that were hosts for the parasitic creatures. 

The worms were found to have clasped around the shell with its ‘mouth’ position along the open edge, allowing it could intercept the brachiopods’ food. 

Researchers call this type of parasitism ‘kleptoparasitism,’ which is when parasites steals food from the host that ultimately becomes weak or may even starve as a result.

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Tube-like worms attached themselves to the shells of ancient brachiopods 512-million-year-ago, providing the first evidence of a parasitic relationship

The tan-colored fossilized brachiopods, formerly known as Neobolus wulongqingensis, were discovered by a team at Northwest University in Xi’an, China.

Thousands of ancient brachiopods, which are similar to modern-day mollusks, were embedded in the Wuding Quarry in Yunnan – and hundreds of them were found to have parasites on the shell.

Researchers note that this is the earliest instance of parasitism, which is believed to have happened shortly after the Cambrian explosion approximately 541 million years ago – an event that led to the first animals diversifying from one another.

There are noticeable grooves on the outside of the shells that suggest the parasite did not bore into its host, it just simply grasped the outside.

Thousands of ancient brachiopods, which are similar to modern-day mollusks, were embedded in the Wuding Quarry (pictured) in Yunnan - and hundreds of them were found to have parasites on the shell

Thousands of ancient brachiopods, which are similar to modern-day mollusks, were embedded in the Wuding Quarry (pictured) in Yunnan – and hundreds of them were found to have parasites on the shell

Paleontologists have uncovered a bed of thousands of filter feeds in a quarry of Yunnan China, with hundreds of them encrusted with the parasites

Paleontologists have uncovered a bed of thousands of filter feeds in a quarry of Yunnan China, with hundreds of them encrusted with the parasites

‘This data when combined with the demonstrated empirical cost to the host in the form of reduced biomass strongly supports kleptoparasitic behavior, reads the study published in Nature.

‘Kleptoparasitism is a form of competition, where food that is either already in the possession of the host or which the host has expended energy on obtaining and capture is imminent, is stolen by the parasite.

‘In our scenario, this involves the tube-dwelling organisms acting as intercept feeders—stealing a portion of the brachiopod feeding stream before it reached the chaetal fringe.’

‘Kleptoparasitism is rarely identified in the fossil record, and no instances of kleptoparasitism, as far as we are aware, have been proposed for Cambrian communities.’

The researchers also found that the worms would only attach themselves to adult brachiopods

The researchers also found that the worms would only attach themselves to adult brachiopods

The tube-dwelling parasites clasped around the shell with its ¿mouth¿ position along the open edge so it could intercept the brachiopod's food.

The tube-dwelling parasites clasped around the shell with its ‘mouth’ position along the open edge so it could intercept the brachiopod’s food.

And it was found that several of the tubelike worms attached themselves to one brachiopod, which was connected to the sea floor by a fleshy ligament.

The researchers also found that the worms would only attach themselves to adult brachiopods, but would hinder their ability to grow any larger.

‘Our analyses demonstrate that the tube-dwelling organism directly impinges upon the biological fitness of the host, supporting the assertion that the encrusting tube-dwelling organisms are parasitic, rather than being either mutualistic or commensal with the brachiopod host,’ the team shared in the study.

WHAT WAS THE ‘CAMBRIAN EXPLOSION’?

Scientists have long speculated that a large oxygen spike during the ‘Cambrian Explosion’ was key to the development of many animal species. 

The Cambrian Explosion, around 541 million years ago, was a period when a wide variety of animals burst onto the evolutionary scene.

Before about 580 million years ago, most organisms were simple, composed of individual cells occasionally organised into colonies.

Over the following 70 or 80 million years, the rate of evolution accelerated and the diversity of life began to resemble that of today.

It ended with the Cambrian-Ordovician extinction event, approximately 488 million years ago. 

A new study has linked the historic rise in oxygen responsible for the formation of animal life on Earth to fossil fuels. Image: This black shale, formed 450 million years ago, contains fossils of trilobites and other organic material that helped support these increases in oxygen

A recent study linked the historic rise in oxygen responsible for the formation of animal life on Earth to fossil fuels. Pictured: This black shale, formed 450 million years ago, contains fossils of trilobites and organic material that helped support these in oxygen