Earliest rhynchonelliform brachiopod parasite from the Late Ordovician of northern Estonia (Baltica)

A new parasite trace fossil, Burrinjuckia clitambonitofilia ichnosp. nov., is described from the ventral mantle cavity of the Sandbian (Late Ordovician) brachiopod Clitambonites squamatus. This is the earliest record of a parasite associated with a rhynchonelliform brachiopod. The parasite that produced Burrinjuckia clitambonitofilia caused damage to the ventral mantle of C squamatus, used brachiopod resources for building its mineralized domicile, and likely stole food from the host's inhalant currents. Predation pressure and the need for easily exploited food resources (i.e., brachiopod-created nutrient flow) may have been the primary driving forces behind the evolution of brachiopod parasites. (c) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.