PARASITIC RELN E 512MYA

researchers present the first-ever evidence of a parasitic relationship dating back 512 million years. Fossils show that tubelike worms attached to the outside of brachiopods — marine animals that look similar to modern mollusks — and effectively stole their food.

Fossils of the brachiopod Neobolus wulongqingensis with encrusted kleptoparasitic tubes.Zhang et. al., 2020