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Bivalve Taphonomy: Testing the Effect of Life Habits on the Shell Condition of the Littleneck Clam Protothaca (Protothaca) staminea (Mollusca: Bivalvia)

2004; Society for Sedimentary Geology; Volume: 19; Issue: 5 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1669/0883-1351(2004)019 2.0.co;2

1938-5323

Darío G. Lazo,

Marine Biology and Ecology Research

Other| October 01, 2004 Bivalve Taphonomy: Testing the Effect of Life Habits on the Shell Condition of the Littleneck Clam Protothaca (Protothaca) staminea (Mollusca: Bivalvia) DARIO GUSTAVO LAZO DARIO GUSTAVO LAZO 1Departamento de Ciencias Geológicas, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Pabellón II, Ciudad Universitaria, Buenos Aires 1428, Argentina, dlazo@gl.fcen.uba.ar Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Author and Article Information DARIO GUSTAVO LAZO 1Departamento de Ciencias Geológicas, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Pabellón II, Ciudad Universitaria, Buenos Aires 1428, Argentina, dlazo@gl.fcen.uba.ar Publisher: SEPM Society for Sedimentary Geology Accepted: 08 May 2004 First Online: 03 Mar 2017 Online ISSN: 1938-5323 Print ISSN: 0883-1351 Society for Sedimentary Geology PALAIOS (2004) 19 (5): 451–459. https://doi.org/10.1669/0883-1351(2004)019 2.0.CO;2 Article history Accepted: 08 May 2004 First Online: 03 Mar 2017 Cite View This Citation Add to Citation Manager Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Permissions Search Site Citation DARIO GUSTAVO LAZO; Bivalve Taphonomy: Testing the Effect of Life Habits on the Shell Condition of the Littleneck Clam Protothaca (Protothaca) staminea (Mollusca: Bivalvia). PALAIOS 2004;; 19 (5): 451–459. doi: https://doi.org/10.1669/0883-1351(2004)019 2.0.CO;2 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Refmanager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentBy SocietyPALAIOS Search Advanced Search Abstract The littleneck clam Protothaca staminea in Argyle Creek and Argyle Lagoon on San Juan Island (Washington, USA) provides an ideal opportunity to test the effect of life habits on the taphonomic signature of shells. This bivalve exhibits two different modes of life in adjacent habitats: infaunal in muds and muddy sands (Argyle Lagoon) and free epifaunal on gravels (Argyle Creek). The mode of life significantly affected the taphonomic signature of both live and dead shells. Epifaunal P. staminea exhibit more damage than infaunal shells, suggesting that the infauna has a greater fossilization potential and may be more heavily affected by time-averaging than the epifauna. Both live infauna and epifauna suffered important taphonomic modifications after death, especially on the internal surface of the shell, but infauna did not reach the high level of damage acquired by the epifauna. In Argyle Creek, taphonomic agents were more effective at the sediment-water interface than within the sediment.Because mode of life has a significant influence on processes of preservation, different taphonomic patterns in fossil bivalves do not necessarily imply different postmortem histories of shells, even when the taphonomic analysis is restricted to a single species. Some external modifications and internal shell damage cannot be regarded as unambiguously postmortem since edge and color modification, external corrasion and encrustation, and internal bioerosion can occur during the lifetime of the animal. Finally, this paper shows that a single bivalve species can exhibit more than one mode of life even within closely proximate environments. The typical mode of life is reflected in shell morphology while the secondary one is not. Thus, functional-morphology studies of extinct species can lead to incomplete interpretations of the range of a bivalve's life habits. An integrated approach combining functional morphology, comparisons with close relatives, and lithofacies analysis can be useful in paleoecological interpretations of extinct bivalve species. You do not have access to this content, please speak to your institutional administrator if you feel you should have access.