The DOI matches its Crossref record; 255 of the 269 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Origins and Early Evolution of Predation
Abstract
Predation, in the broad sense of an organism killing another organism for nutritional purposes, is probably as old as life itself and has originated many times during the history of life. Although little of the beginnings is caught in the fossil record, observations in the rock record and theoretical considerations suggest that predation played a crucial role in some of the major transitions in evolution. The origin of eukaryotic cells, poorly constrained to about 2.7 Ga by geochemical evidence, was most likely the ultimate result of predation among prokaryotes. Multicellularity (or syncytiality), as a means of acquiring larger size, is visible in the fossil record soon after 2 Ga and is likely to have been mainly a response to selective pressure from predation among protists. The appearance of mobile predators on bacteria and protists may date back as far as 2 Ga or it may be not much older than the Cambrian explosion, or about 600 Ma. The combined indications from the decline of stromatolites and the diversification of acritarchs, however, suggest that such predation may have begun around 1 Ga. The Cambrian explosion, culminating around 550 Ma, represents the transition from simple, mostly microbial, ecosystems to ones with complex food webs and second- and higher-order consumers. Macrophagous predators were involved from the beginning, but it is not clear whether they originated in the plankton or in the benthos. Although predation was a decisive selective force in the Cam…
Overview
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Verification
Claims the paper makes
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
In the citing paper
“As in early mollusc evolution, the evolutionary increase in mouth reinforcement begins with cartilaginous structures or other non-mineralized supports,carrying tooth-like structures in jawless vertebrates including conodonts sensu lato (protoconodonts; Missarzhevskij 1973, Bengtson 2002, Goudemand et al. 2011, Murdock et al. 2013).”
From Palaeozoic evolution of animal mouthparts (2017) · cites this paper as Bengtson 2002
In the citing paper
“In the Neoproterozoic, multicellular organisms added motile benthic modes of life including the first macroscopic predators in a broad sense (review in Bengtson 2002; see also Kelley et al. 2003).”
From Palaeozoic evolution of animal mouthparts (2017) · cites this paper as Bengtson 2002
In the citing paper
“The rapid increase in diversity and abundance of biomineralizing organisms during the early Cambrian is often attributed to predation and an evolutionary arms race.”
From Adaptive responses in Cambrian predator and prey highlight the arms race during the rise of animals (2025) · cites this paper as [14]
In the citing paper
“illustrating the importance of predation as a major ecological driver of early animal evolution.”
From Adaptive responses in Cambrian predator and prey highlight the arms race during the rise of animals (2025) · cites this paper as [14]
In the citing paper
“Nonetheless, our data, coupled with other available information from the fossil record, support the hypothesis that a metazoan arms race was firmly established during the early Cambrian”
From Adaptive responses in Cambrian predator and prey highlight the arms race during the rise of animals (2025) · cites this paper as [14]
Citations
Cites
Items 201–255 of 255
Genetics, Paleontology, and Macroevolution
Levinton, J. S. (2001) · Cited by 53
Ediacaran fossils from the southwestern Great Basin, United States
HAGADORN, J. W., & WAGGONER, B. (2000) · Journal of Paleontology · doi:10.1017/s0022336000031553 · Cited by 51
The Ecology of the Cambrian Radiation
Westrop, S. R., Zhuravlev, A. Y., & Riding, R. (2001) · Palaios · doi:10.2307/3515636 · Cited by 51
Zhu, S., Sun, S., Xueguang, H., Yu-zhen, H., Zhu, G., Sun, L., & Zhang, K. (2000) · Chinese Science Bulletin · doi:10.1007/bf02887415 · Cited by 50
de Duve, C. (2011) · Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences · doi:10.1098/rsta.2010.0312 · Cited by 49
A Nonequilibrium Marine Predator‐Prey Interaction
Katz, C. H. (1985) · Ecology · doi:10.2307/1938005 · Cited by 49
Ideas on the timing of metazoan diversification
Stanley, S. M. (1976) · Paleobiology · doi:10.1017/s0094837300004796 · Cited by 48
Biotic Interactions in Recent Marine Sedimentary Environments
Woodin, S. A. (1983) · Topics in geobiology · doi:10.1007/978-1-4757-0740-3_1 · Cited by 44
Cope's Rule and Precambrian and Cambrian invertebrates
Nicol, D. (1966) · Journal of Paleontology · Cited by 43
Are these the oldest metazoan trace fossils
Kauffman, E. G., & Steidtmann, J. R. (1981) · Journal of Paleontology · Cited by 41
Biota diversity and structure during the Neoproterozoic-Ordovician transition
Zhuravlev, A. Y. (2001) · Cited by 40
Boring Late Cambrian organisms
Miller, R. H., & Sundberg, F. A. (1984) · Lethaia · doi:10.1111/j.1502-3931.1984.tb01615.x · Cited by 39
Life cycles: reflections of an evolutionary biologist
(1994) · Choice Reviews Online · doi:10.5860/choice.31-2672 · Cited by 38
Bertrand-Sarfati, J., & Walter, M. R. (1981) · Precambrian Research · doi:10.1016/0301-9268(81)90057-7 · Cited by 34
Amphipod Paramphithoe hystrix: a micro-predator on the sponge Haliclona ventilabrum
Oshel, P. E., & Steele, D. H. (1985) · Marine Ecology Progress Series · doi:10.3354/meps023307 · Cited by 34
Proton Magnetic Resonance Spectrum of Polywater
Petsko, G. A. (1970) · Science · doi:10.1126/science.167.3915.171-a · Cited by 33
Patterns of phytoplankton radiation across the Precambrian-Cambrian boundary
Vidal, G., & MOCZYD£OWSKA, M. (1992) · Journal of the Geological Society · doi:10.1144/gsjgs.149.4.0647 · Cited by 31
7. The Cambrian Radiation and the Diversification of Sedimentary Fabrics
Droser, M. L., & Li, X. (2000) · Columbia University Press eBooks · doi:10.7312/zhur10612-007 · Cited by 31
The dual role of sclerites in a gorgonian coral: Conflicting functions of support and defence
West, J. M. (1998) · Evolutionary Ecology · doi:10.1023/a:1006542515553 · Cited by 30
Allison, C. W. (1981) · Science · doi:10.1126/science.211.4477.53 · Cited by 29
A lower Cambrian protoconodont apparatus from the Placentian of southeastern Newfoundland
McIlroy, D., & Szaniawski, H. (2000) · Lethaia · doi:10.1080/00241160050150230 · Cited by 28
Early Middle Cambrian representatives of the superfamily Acrotretoidea (Brachiopoda) from Morocco
Streng, M. (1999) · Zeitschrift der Deutschen Geologischen Gesellschaft · doi:10.1127/zdgg/150/1999/27 · Cited by 28
Steneck, R. S., Miller, T., Reid, R. P., & Macintyre, I. G. (1998) · Carbonates and Evaporites · doi:10.1007/bf03175434 · Cited by 27
Allostratigraphic relationships of early Proterozoic iron-formations in the Lake Superior region
Morey, G. B., & SOUTHWICK, D. L. (1995) · Economic Geology · doi:10.2113/gsecongeo.90.7.1983 · Cited by 27
Cambrian food web: A brief review
Debrenne, F., & Zhuravlev, A. Y. (1997) · Geobios · doi:10.1016/s0016-6995(97)80023-x · Cited by 27
The Fossil Record of Predation: An Introduction
Kowalewski, M., & Kelley, P. H. (2002) · The Paleontological Society Papers · doi:10.1017/s1089332600001029 · Cited by 26
Pierson, B. K., Bauld, J., Castenholz, R. W., D'Amelio, E., Marais, D. J. D., Farmer, J. D., Grotzinger, J. P., Jørgensen, B. B., Nelson, D. C., Palmisano, A. C., et al. (1992) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/cbo9780511601064.008 · Cited by 26
Patterns of Prickly-Pear Herbivory by Collared Peccaries
Theimer, T. C., & Bateman, G. C. (1992) · Journal of Wildlife Management · doi:10.2307/3808817 · Cited by 25
18. Ecology of Nontrilobite Arthropods and Lobopods in the Cambrian
Budd, G. E. (2000) · Columbia University Press eBooks · doi:10.7312/zhur10612-018 · Cited by 24
17. Ecologic Evolution of Cambrian Trilobites
Hughes, N. C. (2000) · Columbia University Press eBooks · doi:10.7312/zhur10612-017 · Cited by 24
Cambrian explosion and Permian quiescence: Implications of rugged fitness landscapes
Kauffman, S. A. (1989) · Evolutionary Ecology · doi:10.1007/bf02270728 · Cited by 23
A unique case of teratology in trilobite segmentation
Pocock, K. J. (1974) · Lethaia · doi:10.1111/j.1502-3931.1974.tb00885.x · Cited by 19
Fossil Burrows from the Pre-Cambrian Ajibik Quartzite of Michigan
Faul, H. (1949) · Nature · doi:10.1038/164032a0 · Cited by 19
Rydell, J., Hammarlund, J., & Seilacher, A. (2001) · GFF · doi:10.1080/11035890101234247 · Cited by 18
Grey, K. (1994) · Alcheringa An Australasian Journal of Palaeontology · doi:10.1080/03115519408619500 · Cited by 16
A predatory Rusophycus burrow from the Cambrian of southern New Brunswick, eastern Canada
Pickerill, R. K., & Blissett, D. J. (1999) · Atlantic Geology · doi:10.4138/2031 · Cited by 16
Life, geology and snowball Earth
Hyde, W. T., Crowley, T. J., Baum, S. K., & Peltier, W. R. (2001) · Nature · doi:10.1038/35053172 · Cited by 15
Stratigraphic problems of the later precambrian and early cambrian
Cowie, J. W. (1973) · Earth-Science Reviews · doi:10.1016/0012-8252(73)90006-8 · Cited by 14
Cobabe, E. A., & Ptak, A. J. (1999) · Paleobiology · doi:10.1017/s0094837300026506 · Cited by 13
Biotic Interactions and Siliceous Marine Phytoplankton
Kitchell, J. A. (1983) · Topics in geobiology · doi:10.1007/978-1-4757-0740-3_7 · Cited by 12
The Cambrian explosion and the slow burning fuse
Brasier (2000) · PubMed · Cited by 11
Polygonomorph acritarch from the Gunflint Formation (Precambrian), Ontario
Hofmann, H. J. (1971) · Journal of Paleontology · Cited by 10
5. Climate Change at the Neoproterozoic-Cambrian Transition
Eerola, T. (2000) · Columbia University Press eBooks · doi:10.7312/zhur10612-005 · Cited by 9
The Proterozoic-Early Cambrian Evolution of Metaphytes and Metazoans
Bengtson, S., Farmer, J. D., Fedonkin, M. A., Lipps, J. H., & Runnegar, B. N. (1992) · Cambridge University Press eBooks · doi:10.1017/cbo9780511601064.010 · Cited by 9
Self-citationPATTERN OF EVOLUTION OF CAMBRIAN BENTHIC COMMUNITIES: ENVIRONMENTS OF CARBONATE SEDIMENTATION
Zhuravlev, A., & Debrenne, F. (1996) · Riviste UNIMI (Università degli studi di Milano) · doi:10.13130/2039-4942/5267 · Cited by 7
Bickel, R. D., & Brisson, J. A. (2011) · Wiley eBooks · doi:10.1002/9780470015902.a0001661.pub2 · Cited by 5
Do life’s three domains mirror the origins of sex?
Walther, B. T. (2000) · Journal of Biosciences · doi:10.1007/bf02703927 · Cited by 4
Diagenetic replacement controlled by force of crystallization
Maliva, R. G., & Siever, R. (1988) · Geology · doi:10.1130/0091-7613(1988)016
Structure and composition of the Aleutian island arc and implications for continental crustal growth
Steven Holbrook, W., Lizarralde, D., McGeary, S., Bangs, N., & Diebold, J. (1999) · Geology · doi:10.1130/0091-7613(1999)027
High rates of arc consumption by subduction processes: Some consequences
Lallemand, S. (1995) · Geology · doi:10.1130/0091-7613(1995)023
Collins, A. G. (2000) · doi:10.1666/0094-8373(2000)026
Scott (1992) · doi:10.1130/0091-7613(1992)020
Research works printed but not linked: 46
- Zang, 1992, Late Proterozoic and Cambrian microfossils and biostratigraphy, Amadeus Basin, central Australia, Memoirs of the Association of Australasian Palaeontologists, 12, 1
- Walcott, 1920, Cambrian geology and paleontology IV:6—Middle Cambrian Spongiae, Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections, 67, 261
- Matthew, 1912, The sudden appearance of the Cambrian fauna, Report of the Session of the International Geological Congress, Stockholm, 1910, 547
- Whittington, 1982, A new conundrum from the Middle Cambrian Burgess Shale, Third North American Paleontological Convention, Proceedings, 2, 573
- Levinton, 1982, Marine Ecology, 526
- Landing, 1977, “Prooneotodus” tenuis (Müller, 1959) apparatuses from the Taconic allochthon, eastern New York: construction, taphonomy and the protoconodont “supertooth” model, Journal of Paleontology, 51, 1072
- Missarzhevskij, 1973, Problemy paleontologii i biostratigrafii nizhnego kembriya Sibiri i Dal'nego vostoka, 53
- Scudo, 1996, Symbiosis, the origins of major life forms and systematics: A review with speculations, Memorie della Societa Italiana di Scienze Naturali e del Museo Civico di Storia Naturale di Milano, 27, 95
- 10.1017/S002233600003300X · DOI · Paper page
- 10.1130/0091-7613(1992)020<0181:BACCON>2.3.CO;2 · DOI
- Maynard Smith, 1978, The Evolution of Sex, 242
- Bloeser, 1985, Melanocyrillium, a new genus of structurally complex late Proterozoic microfossils from the Kwagunt Formation (Chuar Group), Grand Canyon, Arizona, Journal of Paleontology, 59, 741
- Hutchinson, 1961, Oceanography, 85
- Nielsen, 1995, Interrelationships of the Living Phyla, 467
- Walter, 1992b, The Proterozoic Biosphere: A Multidisciplinary Study, 253
- Honjo, 1978, Marine copepod fecal pellets: production, preservation and sedimentation, Journal of Marine Research, 36, 45
- Runnegar, 1994, Early Life on Earth, 287
- Dunbar, 1960, Historical Geology, 500
- Kirschvink, 2000, Biomineralization, 139
- 10.1666/0094-8373(2000)026<0334:CMITSR>2.0.CO;2 · DOI
- Seilacher, 1956, Der Beginn des Kambriums als biologische Wende, Neues Jahrbuch für Geologie und Paläontologie, Abhandlungen, 103, 155
- Mendelson, 1992a, The Proterozoic Biosphere: A Multidisciplinary Study, 219
- Erben, 1975, Die Entwicklung der Lebewesen, 518
- 10.1666/0094-8373(2000)026<0386:BPNGNS>2.0.CO;2 · DOI
- Walter, 1994, Early Life on Earth, 270
- Bergquist, 1978, Sponges, 268
- Bonner, 1993, Reflections of an Evolutionary Biologist, 209
- Droser, 2001, The Ecology of the Cambrian Radiation, 137
- Zhuravlev, 2001, The Ecology of the Cambrian Radiation: Perspectives in Paleobiology and Earth History, 525
- House C. H. , Coath C. D. , Schopf J. W. , Harrison T. M. , and McKeegan K. D. 2000. The carbon isotopic composition of individual Precambrian microfossils. First Astrobiology Science Conference, April 3–5, 2000.
- Kirschvink, 1992, The Proterozoic Biosphere: A Multidisciplinary Study, 51
- Knoll, 1994a, Early Life on Earth, 437
- Butterfield, 2001, The Ecology of the Cambrian Radiation, 200
- Crimes, 1989, The Precambrian—Cambrian Boundary: Oxford Monographs in Geology and Geophysics, 166
- Eerola, 2001, The Ecology of the Cambrian Radiation, 90
- Farmer, 1992, The Proterozoic Biosphere: A Multidisciplinary Study, 295
- 10.1017/S000632310000548X · DOI · Paper page
- Des Marais, 1992, The Proterozoic Biosphere: A Multidisciplinary Study, 325
- Bauld, 1992, The Proterozoic Biosphere: A Multidisciplinary Study, 261
- Birkenmajer, 1977, Trace fossil evidence for predation on trilobites from Lower Cambrian of south Spitsbergen, Norsk Polarinstitutt Årbok, 1976, 187
- Chen, 1986, [The geological significance of newly discovered microfossils from the Upper Sinian (Doushantuo age) phosphorites.], Scientia Geologica Sinica, 1986, 46
- 10.1130/0091-7613(1999)027<0625:WTWTCO>2.3.CO;2 · DOI · Paper page
- Burzin, 1997, Zachem shipy dokembrijskomu fitoplanktonu? [Why do Precambrian phytoplankton have spines?], Priroda, 1997, 98
- Evans, 1912, The sudden appearance of the Cambrian fauna, Report of the Session of the International Geological Congress, Stockholm, 1910, 543
- Grotzinger, 1990, Geochemical model for Proterozoic stromatolite decline, American Journal of Science, 290, 80
- Hughes, 2001, The Ecology of the Cambrian Radiation, 370
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Erwin, D. H., Laflamme, M., Tweedt, S. M., Sperling, E. A., Pisani, D., & Peterson, K. J. (2011) · Science · doi:10.1126/science.1206375 · Cited by 1,336
The Ediacara biota: Neoproterozoic origin of animals and their ecosystems
Narbonne, G. M. (2005) · Annual Review of Earth and Planetary Sciences · doi:10.1146/annurev.earth.33.092203.122519 · Cited by 714
“There is little evidence of macrophagous predation until near the end of the Ediacaran, but Early Cambrian communities show abundant evidence of Phanerozoic-style predation on soft-bodied and skeletal organisms (e.g., Bengtson 2002).”
BackgroundThe Neoproterozoic oxygenation event: Environmental perturbations and biogeochemical cycling
Och, L. M., & Shields-Zhou, G. A. (2012) · Earth-Science Reviews · doi:10.1016/j.earscirev.2011.09.004 · Cited by 646
“, 2006) and changes in continental sediment accumulation during supercontinent amalgamation (Brasier and Lindsay, 2001); (2) developmental innovations, such as the evolution of Hox genes (Peterson and Davidson, 2000; Erwin and Davidson, 2002); and (3) ecological explanations, concerning new trophic capacities, like (a…”
BackgroundExplaining the Cambrian "Explosion" of Animals
Marshall, C. R. (2006) · Annual Review of Earth and Planetary Sciences · doi:10.1146/annurev.earth.33.031504.103001 · Cited by 506
“Typically, these explanations center on the invention of new trophic capacities, whether predation (Evans 1912, Hutchinson 1961, Vermeij 1990, Bengtson 2002) or cropping (e.g., Stanley 1973, 1976), as a major cause of the Cambrian “explosion.””
BackgroundIntegrated records of environmental change and evolution challenge the Cambrian Explosion
Wood, R., Liu, A. G., Bowyer, F., Wilby, P. R., Dunn, F. S., Kenchington, C. G., Cuthill, J. F. H., Mitchell, E. G., & Penny, A. (2019) · Nature Ecology & Evolution · doi:10.1038/s41559-019-0821-6 · Cited by 337
Metadata
- Authors
- Bengtson, S.
- Affiliations
- Swedish Museum of Natural History (SE)
- Corresponding author
- Bengtson, Stefan
- ORCID
- Bengtson, Stefan
- Venue
- The Paleontological Society Papers
- Publisher
- Cambridge University Press (CUP)
- Published
- 2002-10
- Volume
- 8
- Pages
- 289-318
- ISSN
- 1089-3326 (ISSN-L)
- 2399-7575
- OpenAlex
- W2807075913
- Cited by
- 174
- References
- 269
- Citations by year
- 2026: 11 · 2025: 12 · 2024: 7 · 2023: 8 · 2022: 5 · 2021: 10 · 2020: 12 · 2019: 14 · 2018: 7 · 2017: 9 · 2016: 7 · 2015: 6 · 2014: 10 · 2013: 6 · 2012: 3
- FWCI
- 1.77
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- The Paleontological Society Papers (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Earth and Planetary Sciences › Paleontology › Paleontology and Stratigraphy of Fossils
- Physical Sciences › Earth and Planetary Sciences › Paleontology › Evolution and Paleontology Studies
- Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics › Protist diversity and phylogeny
- Keywords
- predation, early evolution, eukaryotic origin, endosymbiosis, multicellularity, protist predation, bacterial predation, Cambrian explosion, stromatolites, acritarchs, food webs, evolutionary transitions
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review