110-million-years-old fossil suggests early parasitism in shrimps.

ABSTRACT: Direct evidence of paleo-parasitism in crustaceans is very scarce. Epicaridean isopods are obligatory parasites of crustaceans, including decapods such as crabs, shrimps, and lobsters. Their interaction with hosts is known from fossils as far back as the Jurassic through deformations of the branchial cuticle on the hosts. Their small size and low fossilization potential, outside of those larvae that have been found in amber, makes understanding the group's evolution challenging. Here, we report the oldest evidence of paleo-parasitism in marine shrimps and an imprint of a putative adult parasite that appears to be an epicaridean isopod. Our results suggest that the parasite-host interaction between epicaridean isopods and marine shrimps started at least 110 million years ago, and the Tethys

SUBMITTER: Lima D 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10477257 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature