Sublethal and lethal injuries of Pennsylvanian conulariids from Oklahoma

Many specimens of the conulariid Paraconularia magna (Ries) from the Tackett Formation (Upper Pennsylvanian, Missourian) of Oklahoma exhibit repaired or unrepaired injured exoskeletons. Scalloped, cleft, and embayed patterns are interpreted to be repaired sublethal damages produced by unknown events or organisms. Punctures, which are the first reported in conulariids, were not followed by exoskeletal repair and were probably lethal. Cladodont sharks are implicated as possible predators of P. magna because of a close correspondence in size and pattern between the dentition of some sharks and the punctures preserved in conulariid exoskeletons.