Predator-prey scaling laws support a suspension-feeding lifestyle in Cambrian luolishaniid lobopodians.

Abstract

The early Palaeozoic saw a dramatic diversification of shelly epibenthic metazoans adapted to suspension and filter feeding, but the extent to which these radiations affected the evolution of non-biomineralized suspension-feeding taxa is uncertain because these organisms are not typically well represented in the fossil record. Luolishaniids are a highly derived and disparate clade of (typically) armoured lobopodians, widely interpreted as suspension feeders based on the presence of five or six anterior pairs of setulose appendages. Luolishaniids are globally widespread and represent the only Cambrian non-biomineralized free-living epibenthic bilaterians suggested to have a suspension-feeding mode of life, but their proposed ecology relies solely on a qualitative interpretation of their functional morphology. Here we test the hypothesis that the setulose appendages of luolishaniids were adapted for a suspension-feeding function. Quantitative morphological comparisons reveal a positive and statistically significant relationship between body length and the mesh spacing of the setulose anterior limbs of luolishaniids. Standardized comparisons indicate that the body size disparity between luolishaniids (predators) and Cambrian mesoplankton (prey) is consistent with patterns observed in modern suspension-feeding organisms. We provide quantitative evidence for suspension feeding in luolishaniids, which represents the first statistically supported example of modern-like predator-prey scaling patterns observed in Cambrian soft-bodied metazoans. Despite the uncanny appearance of luolishaniids, and Cambrian organisms more broadly, our results suggest their adaptations and mode of life feature ecological attributes shared with modern marine invertebrates.