Paleontologists have found several species of parasites, including Ascaridida eggs, in a 200-million-year-old coprolite probably produced by a crocodile-like reptile and possibly a phytosaur.
“Paleoparasitology is the investigation of parasites found in paleontological and archaeological sites,” said Mahasarakham University researcher Thanit Nonsrirach and colleagues.
“Although specialized parasites producing traces in hard tissues have sometimes been partly identified, other parasites have a very poor fossil record because the soft tissues of the host in which they occur are rarely preserved, except in exceptional conditions such as in amber.”
“Another important source of parasite remains are coprolites, i.e., fossilized fecal material, which can shed light on trophic chains.”
“Several reports have described parasite eggs in coprolites,” they added.
“The assignment of coprolites to a specific host is challenging, but their different shapes can provide systematic information.”
“The insights into parasite-host interactions derived from these discoveries allow a better understanding of paleo-coevolution and paleo-ecosystems.”
“Helminth eggs have been described in vertebrate coprolites, including those of Permian sharks, cynodonts, dinosaurs and other Mesozoic archosaurs, and Quaternary mammals, e.g., hyena, deer and sloth.”
In their new study, the paleontologists examined a Late Triassic vertebrate coprolite from Thailand.
The specimen was collected by a Thai-French joint paleontological field survey in 2010 during a field work in the Huai Nam Aun outcrop near Nong Yakong village in the Thai province of Chaiyaphum.
It has an elongated cylindrical shape, curved on one side, with a rounded end, and is 7.4 cm in length and 2.1 cm in diameter. The surface is hard, smooth and gray in color.
Based on its shape and contents, the researchers suggest it was likely produced by some species of phytosaur, crocodile-like predators which are…
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