Mid-Mesozoic Flea-like Ectoparasites of Feathered or Haired Vertebrates

Abstract

Parasite-host associations among insects and mammals or birds are well attended by neontological studies [1]. An Eocene bird louse compression fossil [2, 3] and several flea specimens from Eocene and Oligocene ambers [4-8], reported to date, are exceptionally similar to living louse and flea taxa. But the origin, morphology, and early evolution of parasites and their associations with hosts are poorly known [9, 10] due to sparse records of putative ectoparasites with uncertain classification in the Mesozoic, most lacking mouthpart information and other critical details of the head morphology [11-15]. Here we present two primitive flea-like species assigned to the Pseudopulicidae Gao, Shih et Ren familia nova (fam. nov.), Pseudopulex jurassicus Gao, Shih et Ren genus novum et species nova (gen. et sp. nov) from the Middle Jurassic [16] and P. magnus Gao, Shih et Ren sp. nov. from the Early Cretaceous in China [17]. They exhibit many features of ectoparasitic insects. Large body size and long serrated stylets for piercing tough and thick skin or hides of hosts suggest that these primitive ectoparasites might have lived on and sucked the blood of relatively large hosts, such as contemporaneous feathered dinosaurs and/or pterosaurs or medium-sized mammals (found in the Early Cretaceous, but not the Middle Jurassic).

Mesozoic giant fleas from northeastern China (Siphonaptera): Taxonomy and implications for palaeodiversity

“…The antenna of the type material of P. jurassicus has 16 visible antennomeres, and that of P. magnus has more than 16 antennomeres, statements that provide no critical differences. The presence of tibial ctenidia has already been indicated in Gao et al [13], that it is not evident probably due to poor preservation in P. magnus and so this again does not serve to truly distinguish their taxa. The serrated teeth are arranged on both margins of the laciniae as in some modern fleas.…”

“…However, Strashila is not an ectoparasite at all according to our recent study, including an account of the hitherto unknown female [12]. Thus, the recently reported new Mesozoic giant fleas, with their fine preservation and representation by both sexes, provide sig-nificant new knowledge for understanding early ectoparasitism and siphonapteran evolution [10,13]. Three different forms of giant fleas were reported in Huang et al [10] and informally named as Taxon A, B, and C, these ranging in age from the Middle Jurassic to the Early Cretaceous.…”

“…Their general characters were briefly described in the original paper, but without systematic description formal denomination. Subsequently, Gao et al [13] proposed the family Pseudopulicidae for Pseudopulex and two included species. Here we describe the three forms of fleas which served as the basis for Huang et al [10] and based on a detailed analysis of their morphology.…”

New fossil Lepidoptera (Insecta: Amphiesmenoptera) from the Middle Jurassic Jiulongshan Formation of northeastern China

“…This date corresponds to the Callovian-Oxfordian boundary interval of the latest Middle Jurassic, using the most recent, standard international time scale [28]. The deposit contain beautifully preserved fossils of insects and other animals [29][30][31][32][33]. After comparison of these fossils to other Mesozoic lepidopteran specimens, we recognized below eleven new genera and fourteen new species, assigned to the three families, the Eolepidopterigidae, the Mesokristenseniidae, and the Ascololepidopterigidae fam.…”

150 million years old isopods on fishes: a possible case of palaeo-parasitism

“…Maas & Waloszek 2001, Castellani et al 2011, or different insects (e.g. Gao et al 2012). Also a possible case for an infective stage of a parasitic isopod has been described (SerranoSánchez et al in review).…”