Wednesday 25 June 2014

Bizarre parasite from the Jurassic had mouthparts for sucking blood

Date:
June 24, 2014

Source:
Universität Bonn

Summary:
Around 165 million years ago, a spectacular parasite was at home in the freshwater lakes of present-day Inner Mongolia (China): A fly larva with a thorax formed entirely like a sucking plate. With it, the animal could adhere to salamanders and suck their blood with its mouthparts formed like a sting. To date no insect is known that is equipped with a similar specialised design.


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