First report of brachiopod-brachiopod endoparasitism

The first example of brachiopod-brachiopod endoparasitism is reported from the Lower Devonian of China. Three-dimensional reconstructions following serial sectioning show a specimen of a strophomenide (Dicoelostrophia sp.) within an articulated shell of the spiriferide Rostrospirifer tonkinensis; morphological modifications of the host and the positioning of the strophomenide with respect to the inhalant current demonstrate the in vivo nature of the association. The symbiosis is interpreted as parasitic; it appears to be facultative but demonstrates the viability of this mode of life, expanding the ecological range known to be exploitable by the Brachiopoda.