A fossil record for trematodes: extent and potential uses |
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| Authors: | GREGORY M RUIZ DAVID R LINDBERG |
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| Institution: | Gregory M. Ruiz, Zoology Department, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720, U.S.A.;Museum of Paleontology, University of California, Berkeley, California, U.S.A. |
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| Abstract: | Some extant parasitic flatworms (Phylum Platyhelminthes, Class Trematoda, Order Digenea) produce pits on the interior shell surface of their molluscan bivalve hosts. Based on comparisons of pits in Tertiary and Quaternary Gemma, Parastarte and Transennella (Family Veneridae), we establish a history of association between trematodes and these host genera spanning over 5 My in North America. This is the first report of a fossil record for the Trematoda. Similar pits are also present in many other bivalve genera (both fossil and living species), indicating that a substantial fossil record may exist for parasitic flatworms. The identification of parasitic infections from fossil shells may provide a new dimension for the study of the evolutionary biology, paleoecology and biogeography of host-parasite associations. □ Trematoda, trace fossils, Veneridae, paleoecology. life-history evolution, parasites. |
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