Ancient Seafloor Communities Unearthed through Fossil Discovery

Researchers have discovered a 480-million-year-old fossil in Morocco that provides evidence of an ancient interspecies interaction. The fossil is a cephalopod that was posthumously colonized by a colony of tiny filter-feeders called pterobranchs. This discovery sheds light on the early Paleozoic era and the transitionary period between the Cambrian and Ordovician periods. It also highlights the long history of animals building their homes on top of other animals, a behavior that has persisted for millions of years.