110-million-years-old fossil suggests early parasitism in shrimps

Abstract

Direct evidence of paleo-parasitism in crustaceans is very scarce. Epicaridean isopods are obligatory parasites of crustaceans, including decapods such as crabs, shrimps, and lobsters. Their interaction with hosts is known from fossils as far back as the Jurassic through deformations of the branchial cuticle on the hosts. Their small size and low fossilization potential, outside of those larvae that have been found in amber, makes understanding the group’s evolution challenging. Here, we report the oldest evidence of paleo-parasitism in marine shrimps and an imprint of a putative adult parasite that appears to be an epicaridean isopod. Our results suggest that the parasite–host interaction between epicaridean isopods and marine shrimps started at least 110 million years ago, and the Tethys Sea was a possible dispersal pathway for this lineage of parasites during the Jurassic and Cretaceous, as known for other marine organisms through most of the Mesozoic and Cenozoic. The oldest fossil records of bopyrid swellings associated with a large number of decapods from the Jurassic in Europe suggest that the Tethys region was a center of epicaridean distribution as a whole. Recent parasitic isopods found on dendrobranchiate shrimps are restricted to the Indo-Pacific and may represent a relict group of a lineage of parasites more widely distributed in the Mesozoic.

Exploring the preservation of a parasitic trace in decapod crustaceans using finite elements analysis

“…These distinct fossil swellings have been found on diverse decapod fossils since an early peak in the number of parasitized host species in the Late Jurassic, found predominantly in Europe [20]. Likely using the Tethys as a dispersal pathway, K. crusta has been observed on decapod fossils globally through the Cretaceous and Cenozoic, although with lower host diversity than seen in the Late Jurassic [21].…”

Exploring the preservation of a parasitic trace in decapod crustaceans using finite elements analysis

“…These distinct fossil swellings have been found on diverse decapod fossils since an early peak in the number of parasitized host species in the Late Jurassic, found predominantly in Europe [20]. Likely using the Tethys as a dispersal pathway, K. crusta has been observed on decapod fossils globally through the Cretaceous and Cenozoic, although with lower host diversity than seen in the Late Jurassic [21]. Extant isopods in the family Bopyridae, which induce branchial swellings attributable to K. crusta, are globally widespread and infest diverse decapod species [22], in contrast to the relatively poor Cenozoic fossil record of K. crusta.…”

“…Likely using the Tethys as a dispersal pathway, K . crusta has been observed on decapod fossils globally through the Cretaceous and Cenozoic, although with lower host diversity than seen in the Late Jurassic [ 21 ]. Extant isopods in the family Bopyridae, which induce branchial swellings attributable to K .…”

Temporal changes in streamflow regime and host-related factors affect parasitism of freshwater prawn in Southeast Brazil

“…The history of host-parasite interaction involving epicaridean isopods and prawns has been observed in fossils from the early Cretaceous and the late Jurassic (163-110 Mya), indicating a long evolutionary association (Klompmaker et al 2021;Lima et al 2023). Since then, the dynamic of host-parasite systems is driven by host-related factors that can influence the likelihood of infection on several scales of observation (Poulin, 2007;Castrillo, 2018;Schmid-Hempel, 2021).…”