Data from: New suspension-feeding radiodont suggests evolution of microplanktivory in Cambrian macronekton

The rapid diversification of metazoans and their organisation in
modern-style marine ecosystems during the Cambrian profoundly transformed
the biosphere. What initially sparked this Cambrian explosion remains
passionately debated, but the establishment of a coupling between pelagic
and benthic realms, a key characteristic of modern-day oceans, might
represent a primary ecological cause. By allowing the transfer of biomass
and energy from the euphotic zone—the locus of primary production—to the
sea floor, this biological pump would have boosted diversification within
the emerging metazoan-dominated benthic communities. However, little is
known about Cambrian pelagic organisms and their trophic interactions.
Here we describe a filter-feeding Cambrian radiodont exhibiting
morphological characters that likely enabled the capture of
microplankton-sized particles, including large phytoplankton. This
description of a large free-swimming suspension-feeder potentially engaged
in primary consumption suggests a more direct involvement of nekton in the
establishment of an oceanic pelagic-benthic coupling in the Cambrian.