Borings are not boring: Examples of macrobioerosion in marine palaeo-ecosystems

Bioerosion is an ecological process identifiable in the fossil record by means of traces left on hard substrates by producers, since Late Proterozoic times. It implies both the destruction and construction of information, and its analysis is a valuable tool to better understand the biodiversity and the (palaeo)ecological complexity of a given area at any moment of the Earth’s history, as bioeroding organisms often lack a fossilisable hard skeleton. Moreover, bioerosion traces inform on two (reaction and coaction) of the three relationships established between organisms and their environment within the ecosystem. But bioerosion is also a first order taphonomic agent. Bioerosion and taphonomy follow one another as (palaeo)ecological and fossilisation processes, but at the same time they overlap and condition each other. This review aims to be a state-of-the-art treatise on bioerosion as both an ecological process and a taphonomic agent. The review mainly focuses on the fields of palaeomalacology, understanding molluscs both as producers and victims, or substrates of bioerosion, and of the rocky-shore environments, both centred in the Neogene period. Bioerosive studies of a palaeoecological and palaeoenvironmental nature are numerous and continue to increase. Research on bioerosion-taphonomy interaction still has a long way to go. As such, this contribution will demonstrate its value for both palaeoenvironmental interpretation and for understanding the sometimes-complex processes of fossilisation.