Commensalism in the fossil record: Eunicid polychaete bioerosion on Pliocene solitary corals

TLDR: In the fossil record, Sulcichnus occurs associated to shallow marine environments whereas their Recent counterparts are described on deep-marine corals, which is interpreted as a consequence of a change in the environmental requirements of the coral/worm pair.

Abstract: Some solitary caryophylliid (Caryophyllia, Trochocyathus, and Ceratotrochus) and flabellid (Flabellum) scleractinian corals from Pliocene of Western Mediterranean exhibit long groove-shaped bioersional structures running along the surface of the thecae. They are epigenic structures produced by an episkeletozoan and therefore, they are described as Fixichnia. Here we propose Sulcichnus as a new ichnogenus, with three new ichnospecies (Sulcichnus maeandriformis, S. helicoidalis, and S. sigillum) to name this traces. Sulcichnus is attributed to the activity of polychaetes. Similar structures are recently produced by Lumbrineris flabellicola, a symbiotic eunicid which maintains a commensalistic relationship with solitary corals. In the fossil record, Sulcichnus occurs associated to shallow marine environments whereas their Recent counterparts are described on deep-marine corals. We interpret this as a consequence of a change in the environmental requirements of the coral/worm pair.