4.8 Article

Widespread mermithid nematode parasitism of Cretaceous insects

Journal

ELIFE
Volume 12, Issue -, Pages -

Publisher

eLIFE SCIENCES PUBL LTD
DOI: 10.7554/eLife.86283

Keywords

fossil; amber; nametode; insect; parasitism; Cretaceous

Categories

Ask authors/readers for more resources

Mermithid nematodes have been found to be widespread invertebrate parasites, with 16 new fossils indicating their presence in mid-Cretaceous insects and their important role in the terrestrial ecosystem during that time. Interestingly, some hosts previously unknown to be parasitized by these nematodes were also discovered.
Mermithid nematodes are obligate invertebrate parasites dating back to the Early Cretaceous. Their fossil record is sparse, especially before the Cenozoic, thus little is known about their early host associations. This study reports 16 new mermithids associated with their insect hosts from mid-Cretaceous Kachin amber, 12 of which include previously unknown hosts. These fossils indicate that mermithid parasitism of invertebrates was already widespread and played an important role in the mid-Cretaceous terrestrial ecosystem. Remarkably, three hosts (bristletails, barklice, and perforissid planthoppers) were previously unknown to be parasitized by mermithids both past and present. Furthermore, our study shows that in contrast to their Cenozoic counterparts, Cretaceous nematodes including mermithids are more abundant in non-holometabolous insects. This result suggests that nematodes had not completely exploited the dominant Holometabola as their hosts until the Cenozoic. This study reveals what appears to be a vanished history of nematodes that parasitized Cretaceous insects.

Authors

I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.

Reviews

Primary Rating

4.8
Not enough ratings

Secondary Ratings

Novelty
-
Significance
-
Scientific rigor
-
Rate this paper

Recommended

No Data Available
No Data Available