Genus

Osspecus Higgs, Little, Glover, Dahlgren, Smith et Dominici, 2012

Taxon description

Jamison-Todd et al., 2025b

Diagnosis: Single entry borings found in bone substrates. Individual borings consist of a circular to sub-circular aperture, lacking any rim or platform. This aperture extends into the bone as a uniformly thick canal, generally perpendicular to the bone surface, with a globular or irregularly shaped chamber at the base of the canal. These chambers may or may not have thin exploratory tunnels emanating from them.

Jamison-Todd et al., 2025a

Diagnosis. Single entry borings found in bone substrates. Individual borings consist of a circular to sub-circular aperture, lacking any rim or platform. This aperture extends into the bone as a uniformly thick canal, generally perpendicular to the bone surface, with a globular or irregularly shaped chamber at the base of the canal. These chambers may or may not have thin exploratory tunnels emanating from them.

Higgs et al., 2012

Diagnosis: Single entry borings found in bone substrates. Individual borings consist of a circular to sub-circular aperture, lacking any rim or platform. This aperture extends into the bone as a uniformly thick canal, generally perpendicular to the bone surface, with a globular or irregularly shaped chamber at the base of the canal. These chambers may or may not have thin exploratory tunnels emanating from them

Selection of related publications
Jamison-Todd, S., Witts, J. D., Jones, M. E. H., Tangunan, D., Chandler, K., Bown, P., Twitchett, R. J. 2025. The evolution of bone-eating worm diversity in the Upper Cretaceous Chalk Group of the United Kingdom. PLOS ONE 20, 4, e0320945. DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0320945
Higgs, N. D., Little, C. T., Glover, A. G., Dahlgren, T. G., Smith, C. R., Dominici, S. 2012. Evidence of Osedax worm borings in Pliocene (∼3 Ma) whale bone from the Mediterranean. Historical Biology 24, 3, 1-9. DOI:10.1080/08912963.2011.621167