Scientists have found the fossil rest of a previously unknown metal money of sponger , cling onto the animal it infected some 425 million years ago . This fascinating discovery , release inCurrent Biology , suggests that the " ancient intruder " was a case of tongue worm whose size ranged from 1 to 4 millimeters long .
" This is the most important fogey grounds yet discovered of the origins of this case of parasitism , " suppose carbon monoxide gas - writer Derek Briggs from Yale University in astatement .
The fogey stay , which were find in Herefordshire , England , were “ exceptionally well - preserved,”according toan international team of researchers . The new sponge species has been aptly namedInvavita piratica , which means " piracy " and " ancient intruder . " This is the first time that research worker have recover a ossified clapper louse bond to its host . The spit worm was found on anostracod , which is a class ofCrustaceanthat has two shells connect at a hinge .
" This discovery is important not only because examples of parasites are exceptionally rarified in the fossil criminal record , but also because the possible host of fossil knife worm – and the origin of the lifestyle of tongue worms – has been the subject of much disputation , " said confidential information authorDavid Siveter , from theUniversity of Leicester , in astatement .
Tongue worms – call Pentastomida – are named after their louse - like bodies that in some species are work like tongues . These arthropods have a head and two pairs of limbs . The fossil specimen were found on the inside of the host animal ’s cuticle and the external surface of the server ’s casing , which researchers say is unique for living or fossil tongue worms .
The fossil ’s modern day relatives live within the respiratory system of the animals they invade . There are about 140 species , which are chiefly epenthetic on vertebrate animals . The vast bulk of their boniface – around 70 % – are snake , but they are also known to infect humans . These parasites are have intercourse to have an " indirect"life cycle as they utilise an intermediate host , such as a Pisces , which is then consumed by the petty host .
Researchers suggest that the find of this fossil on an mussel shrimp could mean that the lifecycle of this parasite develop in a marine setting , which retain when they eventually moved to set down onto the respiratory system oftetrapods . It ’s unclear when this would have encounter , but the study suggest that it could have occurred when vertebrate invaded acres during the mid - to - late Palaeozoic period .
