Synonyms
Definition
Placoderm diet describes the food consumed for species within the order Placodermi, which includes antiarchs, ptyctodonts, and arthrodires.
Introduction
There are few cases where the diet of placoderms can be observed directly from preserved stomach contents. Most inferences about diet are made from the type of tooth plates present, calculations of gape and bite force, and body morphology. In addition, the fauna associated with the placoderms can provide information of the food sources available.
The antiarch placoderms (Fig. 1a) are interpreted as being benthophageous. Direct evidence from the gut contents of Bothriolepis canadensis from the Escuminac Formation, Canada shows that it fed at on the conchostracan Asmusia membranacea. Juvenile specimens of actinolepids have been recovered from Lode Quarry in Latvia with stomachs filled with these small crustaceans, supporting them as secondary consumers (Upeniece 2001). This differs from earlier...
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References
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Trinajstic, K., Roelofs, B. (2019). Placodermi Diet. In: Vonk, J., Shackelford, T. (eds) Encyclopedia of Animal Cognition and Behavior. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-47829-6_1175-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-47829-6_1175-1
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