Ecological snapshot of a population of Panopea within their traces (Pliocene, Agua Amarga subbasin, SE Spain)

Pliocene deposits cropping out in the Agua Amarga subbasin (Almería, SE Spain) include a composite shell bed made up of variously preserved and densely packed mollusks. The characteristics of the shell bed indicate deposition in shallow marine settings under a changeable sedimentation rate. The composite shell bed was formed through the amalgamation of several depositional events, mostly connected with storm events. During relatively slow sedimentation the bivalve Panopea colonized the substratum. The colonization took place over different stages of the shell bed formation, as reflected by differently preserved Panopea scattered throughout the shell bed. The upper part of the shell bed contains several tens of Panopea preserved within their burrows: Scalichnus cf. phiale Hanken et al., 2001. All bivalves in S. cf. phiale are articulated and preserved in life position. They are confined to a single horizon and most probably represent a single fossil population composed of adult individuals of Panopea resulting from anastrophic burial by storm deposits. As a consequence, the bivalves in their burrows succumbed at the same time; that is, the study case represents an “ecological snapshot” or ecological census.