DOI: 10.5061/dryad.wwpzgmsxm
title: A 480-million-year-old parasitic spionid annelid

description: The Paleozoic fossil record can provide unique insights into the evolution
 of life history traits through the direct preservation of interspecific
 interactions in deep time. However, evidence of direct interactions
 between different species is relatively rare, even among localities with
 exceptional soft-tissue preservation, with most examples being known from
 Cambrian marine deposits. Here we provide the first evidence of parasitic
 organisms from the Fezouata Shale biota of Morocco, the most diverse and
 abundant Ordovician site with exceptional preservation, but that has
 heretofore shown no evidence for parasitism. Seven specimens of the
 bivalve mollusc Babinka show highly characteristic, question mark-shaped
 shell borings consistent with those produced by modern and fossil
 parasitic spionid polychaetes. Our results include anatomical and
 quantitative comparisons with modern and fossil spionid borings and
 underscore two major conclusions. The first is that the spionid
 polychaetes were present in the Early Ordovician, which evidences a
 significant biostratigraphic shift in their temporal origins from their
 accepted Devonian occurrence. The second is that many unique life history
 strategies, which were significant components of the Fezouata Shale biota,
 remain undiscovered, despite the high concentration of taxonomic attention
 the site has received.
description: # A 480-million-year-old parasitic spionid annelid Dataset DOI:
 [10.5061/dryad.wwpzgmsxm](10.5061/dryad.wwpzgmsxm) ## Description of the
 data and file structure #### Methods: Fossil specimens were scanned using
 a SkyScan1273 (Bruker Corporation) micro-computed tomography (micro-CT)
 scanner at the Museum of Comparative Zoology Digital Imaging Facilities.
 The slab containing MCZ.IP.202864 and MCZ.IP.202865 was scanned with a 1mm
 copper filter with energy set at 130 kV/61 μA and an imaging pixel size of
 44.41μm. The slab containing MCZ.IP.202859 to MCZ.IP.202863 was scanned
 with a 2mm copper filter with energy set at 130 kV/278 μA and an imaging
 pixel size of 35.63μm. The scan files were reconstructed as
 cross-sectional TIFF stacks in NRecon (Bruker Corporation) and visualized
 using Dragonfly software, Version 2021.1 for Windows. Comet Technologies
 Canada Inc., Montreal, Canada; software available at
 [https://dragonfly.comet.tech/](https://dragonfly.comet.tech/). #### File
 Types: This README file includes combined instructions for two forms of
 data: **The Dragonfly Sessions** work best when opened with the eponymous
 software
 ([https://dragonfly.comet.tech/; ](https://dragonfly.comet.tech/?uh=6b5ae8a230a2d222ba13a0f50f3f8cd0a88dea543e4694f4b763e4b6b372d5fc "https://dragonfly.comet.tech/")see details below), and include all the information regarding the parameters used for visualizing the data used in the results and discussion of the published manuscript.  **The TIFF Stacks** contain the raw data (after minimal processing/reconstruction from the micro-CT scanner), consisting of grayscale TIFF files that correspond to the tomographic sections of all the datasets analyzed. This option allows users to examine the data without the need to use Dragonfly, and can be accessed with other freeware options, including SPIERS ([https://spiers-software.org/](https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__spiers-2Dsoftware.org_&d=DwMCAw&c=WO-RGvefibhHBZq3fL85hQ&r=RoBtBqLfBvA75aSCZXNUmOA0Zr30pao7udBKnzN6xJUFmq4F6NtAwHAvzg0J0Inr&m=oIs6PvI83yxVCgUqWr2ezfCDB0v30emCuEn7MMOituL8g9WrpLGfIPsRdoBF3qkM&s=1RQ0V1p2Yv5Ftf9DPkJLXaEdCpH3NOnhWi6T2mi2j1c&e= "https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__spiers-2Dsoftware.org_&d=DwMCAw&c=WO-RGvefibhHBZq3fL85hQ&r=RoBtBqLfBvA75aSCZXNUmOA0Zr30pao7udBKnzN6xJUFmq4F6NtAwHAvzg0J0Inr&m=oIs6PvI83yxVCgUqWr2ezfCDB0v30emCuEn7MMOituL8g9WrpLGfIPsRdoBF3qkM&s=1RQ0V1p2Y")) and Drishti ([https://github.com/nci/drishti](https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__github.com_nci_drishti&d=DwMCAw&c=WO-RGvefibhHBZq3fL85hQ&r=RoBtBqLfBvA75aSCZXNUmOA0Zr30pao7udBKnzN6xJUFmq4F6NtAwHAvzg0J0Inr&m=oIs6PvI83yxVCgUqWr2ezfCDB0v30emCuEn7MMOituL8g9WrpLGfIPsRdoBF3qkM&s=Fu-jwrajAOA3OGIX__PCs7UID_tL4wWrTgsNe247KcE&e= "https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=https-3A__github.com_nci_drishti&d=DwMCAw&c=WO-RGvefibhHBZq3fL85hQ&r=RoBtBqLfBvA75aSCZXNUmOA0Zr30pao7udBKnzN6xJUFmq4F6NtAwHAvzg0J0Inr&m=oIs6PvI83yxVCgUqWr2ezfCDB0v30emCuEn7MMOituL8g9WrpLGfIPsRdoBF3qkM&s=Fu-jwrajA")).  The compressed ZIP files were compressed using Windows and will be unzipped.ORSSession files or to folders of .tif image files. ORSSession files may be opened in Dragonfly using a free noncommercial license. Dragonfly 2024.1 [Computer software]. Comet Technologies Canada Inc., Montreal, Canada; software available at [https://dragonfly.comet.tech/](https://dragonfly.comet.tech/?uh=6b5ae8a230a2d222ba13a0f50f3f8cd0a88dea543e4694f4b763e4b6b372d5fc "https://dragonfly.comet.tech/") Folders of reconstructed .tif stacks may be visualized in many programs. The authors used Dragonfly 2019 4.0 (Object Research Systems, Montreal, Canada); the corresponding sessions are archived here. Other visualization tools can import the images here, including the free software Drishti, cited below. Ajay Limaye; Drishti: a volume exploration and presentation tool. Proc. SPIE 8506, Developments in X-Ray Tomography VIII, 85060X (October 17, 2012). [https://github.com/nci/drishti/wiki](https://github.com/nci/drishti/wiki) * **MCZ_IP_202859_202863_Dragonfly.ORSSession** This zipped file corresponds to the scan of MCZ.IP.202859, MCZ.IP.20260, MCZ.IP.20261, MCZ.IP.20262, and MCZ.IP.20263, in Figure 1. The Dragonfly Session may be opened in the Dragonfly program. * **MCZ_IP_202859_202863.zip**  This zipped folder of reconstructed .tif images corresponds to the scan of MCZ.IP.202859, MCZ.IP.20260, MCZ.IP.20261, MCZ.IP.20262, and MCZ.IP.20263, in Figure 1. The .tif files may be opened in Dragonfly, Drishti, or other 3D image processing software. * **MCZ_IP_202864_202865_Dragonfly.ORSSession**  This zipped file corresponds to the scan of MCZ.IP.202864 and MCZ.IP.20265, in Figure 2. The Dragonfly Session may be opened in the Dragonfly program. * **MCZ_IP_202864_202865.zip** This zipped folder of reconstructed .tif images corresponds to the scan of MCZ.IP.202864 and MCZ.IP.20265, in Figure 2. The .tif files may be opened in Dragonfly, Drishti, or other 3D image processing software.