Invavita
Invavita piratica Temporal range:
| |
---|---|
reconstruction of I. piratica on its host, | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | |
Phylum: | |
Subphylum: | |
Class: | |
Subclass: | |
Order: | |
Genus: | Invavita
|
Species: | I. piratica
|
Binomial name | |
Invavita piratica (Siveter et al, 2015)
|
Invavita piratica is an extinct, parasitic species of tongue worm, provisionally assigned to the order Cephalobaenida, from Ludlow-aged England. Despite the common name, tongue worms are actually highly modified crustacean arthropods closely related to barnacles and copepods, not worms; the Pentastomida are obligate parasites.[1][2] It possessed a head, a worm-like body, and two pairs of limbs.[3]
The 425-million-year-old Silurian fossil holotype specimen was found still attached to its fossilised host, a specimen of the ostracod , at an undisclosed location in England.[1] It is now in Oxford University Museum of Natural History. It was first described in the journal Current Biology in 2015.[2]
Etymology[]
The generic name is a New Latin compound word combining "invasor" and "avitus," and roughly translates as "ancient intruder." The specific name refers to piracy; both names referring directly to the organism's obvious parasitic lifestyle.[2]
References[]
- ^ a b Gill, Victoria (22 May 2015). "A 425-million-year-old parasite found attached to host". BBC Online. Retrieved 22 May 2015.
- ^ a b c Siveter, David J.; Briggs, Derek E.G.; Siveter, Derek J.; Sutton, Mark D. (2015). "A 425-Million-Year-Old Silurian Pentastomid Parasitic on Ostracods". Current Biology. 25 (12): 1632–1637. doi:10.1016/j.cub.2015.04.035. PMID 26004764.
- ^ "Requiem for an ancient tongue worm". Yale News. 2015-05-21. Retrieved 5 June 2015.
- Parasitic crustaceans
- Parasites of crustaceans
- Prehistoric crustacean genera
- Silurian arthropods of Europe
- Silurian England
- Fossils of England
- Fossil taxa described in 2015