Healed injuries in Early Cambrian trilobites from South Australia

Abstract Examples of an undescribed species of the trilobite Redlichia from the Emu Bay Shale (Early Cambrian), Kangaroo Island, South Australia, show damage to the exoskeleton attributed to the action of predators. Injury was probably not lethal. The identity of the predators is unresolved, notwithstanding soft-part preservation within the fossil assemblage. Possible culprits include either a rare and presumably large animal such as an arthropod or conceivably cannibalism by Redlichia itself. This report provides new data on the occurrence of Cambrian predators, and casts further doubt on earlier suggestions that macrophagous predation was insignificant at this time. Aspects of trilobite predation during the Palaeozoic are reviewed, with emphasis placed on their ability to withstand substantial injuries and the possible repair mechanisms that promoted wound healing and survival.