A fossil record of shell boring: Possible evidence for sea level changes in the Red Sea

Abstract

An aggregation of fossil shells of the Indo-Pacific muricid snails Chicoreus ramosus was found in the northern part of the island of Tiran, Red Sea. The site was 7 m above the present mean sea level. Radiocarbon dating of these shells indicated an age of 1570±80 years BP. Some of these shells bore-drilled holes, most of them uncompleted. Biological study revealed that such holes were probably drilled by conspecifics in the absence of alternative food after they had been disconnected from the sea. Since there is no evidence of human activity in this part of Tiran, I suggest that such conditions could be caused only by a physical process that changed the relative water level. In accordance with the character of the drilled holes and the short period which muricids maintain reproductive aggregates, I also postulate that such a physical process must have been a relatively rapid one.