Adaptive morphologies and guild structure in a high-diversity bivalve fauna from an early Campanian rocky shore, Ivö Klack (Sweden)

The bivalve fauna from a late early Campanian rocky shore at Ivö Klack (southern Sweden), comprises just over sixty species, a very high diversity in comparison to other Late Cretaceous and modern rocky shore bivalve assemblages. This high diversity is here considered to represent a reliable census of the fauna; only in part can it be explained by the cumulative effect of generations of bivalves inhabiting this coastal environment. The high density and diversity and the wide range of shell morphologies allow interpretation of different modes of life in this variable environment with many contrasting habitats. Study of the functional morphology of bivalve shells and comparison with extant relatives has resulted in a subdivision of the fauna into seven guilds and five habitats. The bivalve fauna represents a within-habitat, time-averaged assemblage to which none of the species was introduced from adjacent environments. It includes some of the most northerly known, very small rudistid bivalves, in addition to the oldest known occurrences of Mytilus and Barbatia in association with rocky shores. Bivalves constituted the most important invertebrate group inhabiting the late early Campanian rocky shore at Ivö Klack, in terms of diversity, density and biomass.

► A high-diversity rocky shore bivalve fauna comprising 61 species is described. ► Functional morphology studies of the shells result in a subdivision into seven Late Cretaceous guilds and five habitats. ► The fauna includes some of the most northerly known rudistid bivalves.