Brittle-star mass occurrence on a Late Cretaceous methane seep from South Dakota, USA

Articulated brittle stars are rare fossils because the skeleton rapidly disintegrates after death and only fossilises intact under special conditions. Here, we describe an extraordinary mass occurrence of the ophiacanthid ophiuroid Brezinacantha tolis gen. et sp. nov., preserved as articulated skeletons from an upper Campanian (Late Cretaceous) methane seep of South Dakota. It is uniquely the first fossil case of a seep-associated ophiuroid. The articulated skeletons overlie centimeter-thick accumulations of dissociated skeletal parts, suggesting lifetime densities of approximately 1000 individuals per m(2), persisting at that particular location for several generations. The ophiuroid skeletons on top of the occurrence were preserved intact most probably because of increased methane seepage, killing the individuals and inducing rapid cementation, rather than due to storm-induced burial or slumping. The mass occurrence described herein is an unambiguous case of an autochthonous, dense ophiuroid community that persisted at a particular spot for some time. Thus, it represents a true fossil equivalent of a recent ophiuroid dense bed, unlike other cases that were used in the past to substantiate the claim of a mid-Mesozoic predation-induced decline of ophiuroid dense beds.