Paleobiological implications of shell repair in recent marine gastropods from the northern Gulf of California

Abstract

Shell repair frequencies in eleven species of Recent gastropods from the northern Gulf of California vary with habitat, shell morphology and intensity of durophagous predation. Squat shells with large apertures tend to have high repair frequencies (0.25–0.50). Shell thickness at the aperture and shell size are not correlated with frequency of repair. Significant intraspecific variation in repair frequency exists between habitats. Samples from rocky habitats have statistically higher repair frequencies than samples of the same species from sandy habitats. However, habitat‐related variation between species is not apparent. Trends in co‐evolution of gastropods and their durophagous predators are based on the indirect evidence of shell repair frequencies through time. Variation in repair frequency due to environmental and morphological factors may obscure predator‐related temporal trends in repair frequency.