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A 425-million-year-old Silurian pentastomid parasitic on ostracods
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PIIS0960982215004868.pdf | Published version | 1.79 MB | Adobe PDF | View/Open |
Title: | A 425-million-year-old Silurian pentastomid parasitic on ostracods |
Authors: | Siveter, DJ Briggs, DE Siveter, DJ Sutton, MD |
Item Type: | Journal Article |
Abstract: | Pentastomids (tongue worms) are worm-like arthropods known today from ∼140 species [1]. All but four are parasitic on vertebrates. Their life cycle typically involves larval development in an intermediate host followed by maturation in the respiratory tract of a definitive terrestrial host. Fossil pentastomids are exceedingly rare and are known only from isolated juveniles [2-6]. The identity of the possible hosts of fossil pentastomids and the origin of their lifestyle have generated much debate. A new, exceptionally preserved species, described based on adults from 425-million-year-old marine rocks, is the only known fossil pentastomid associated with a host, in this case a species of ostracod crustacean. The pentastomids are preserved near eggs within the ostracod and also, uniquely for any fossil or living pentastomid, are attached externally to the host. This discovery affirms the origin of pentastomids as ectoparasitic on marine invertebrates. The terrestrialization of pentastomids may have occurred in parallel with the vertebrate invasion of land. |
Issue Date: | 15-Jun-2015 |
Date of Acceptance: | 15-Apr-2015 |
URI: | http://hdl.handle.net/10044/1/23597 |
DOI: | 10.1016/j.cub.2015.04.035 |
ISSN: | 0960-9822 |
Publisher: | Elsevier |
Start Page: | 1632 |
End Page: | 1637 |
Journal / Book Title: | Current Biology |
Volume: | 25 |
Issue: | 12 |
Copyright Statement: | © 2015 The Authors. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ |
Sponsor/Funder: | Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) |
Funder's Grant Number: | NE/F01693X/1 |
Keywords: | Science & Technology Life Sciences & Biomedicine Biochemistry & Molecular Biology Biology Cell Biology Life Sciences & Biomedicine - Other Topics FUNCTIONAL-MORPHOLOGY CRUSTACEAN EVOLUTION ARTHROPOD FOSSILS Animals Crustacea Fossils Imaging, Three-Dimensional Time Factors Animals Crustacea Imaging, Three-Dimensional Time Factors Fossils Developmental Biology 06 Biological Sciences 11 Medical and Health Sciences 17 Psychology and Cognitive Sciences |
Publication Status: | Published |
Online Publication Date: | 2015-05-21 |
Appears in Collections: | Earth Science and Engineering Faculty of Engineering |
This item is licensed under a Creative Commons License