Reply to the Comment on “The ‘living-fossil’ community of the cyrtocrinid Cyathidium foresti and the deep-sea oyster Neopycnodonte zibrowii (Azores Archipelago)” by M. Wisshak, C. Neumann, J. Jakobsen and A. Freiwald [Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 271 (2009) 77–83]

• Published in: Palaeogeography, palaeoclimatology, palaeoecology palaeoclimatology, palaeoecology, 2009-08, Vol.279 (3), p.235-236
• Main Authors: Wisshak, Max, Neumann, Christian, Jakobsen, Joachim, Freiwald, André
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Carbonate mound; Cyathidium; Danian; Denmark; Faxe; Holopus; Neopycnodonte; Palaeoecology
• ISSN: 0031-0182; 1872-616X
• DOI: 10.1016/j.palaeo.2009.05.012

We underline the criticism expressed in Wisshak et al., 2009 (“The ‘living-fossil’ community of the cyrtocrinid Cyathidium foresti and the deep-sea oyster Neopycnodonte zibrowii (Azores Archipelago)” Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 271, 77–83: p. 81) on the speculation by Donovan and Jakobsen, 2004 (An unusual crinoid barnacle association in the type area of the Danian (Paleocene, Denmark). Lethaia 37: 407–415: p. 413) that cyrtocrinids and barnacles may have thrived together as pseudoplankton on driftwood. Even though this hypothesis is conceivable, it remains unlikely. The data basis is neither sufficient to conclude with confidence that suitable habitat was unavailable close at hand, nor to exclude that the sediment accumulation in question had undergone considerable transport, nor is there any direct or indirect evidence for a wooden substrate. Although it cannot be ruled out altogether that some Cyathidium holopus individuals may have attached themselves to floating logs, thereby benefiting from the absence of benthic predators, the overwhelming majority of the Danian cyrtocrinids settled on the seafloor and reflect the overall habitat shift of these crinoids towards deeper waters by the Early Cenozoic.