Re: Dinosaur parasites

[Phil Bigelow <bigelowp@juno.com>]

Curious, are helminths a monophyletic group?

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On Thu, 27 Apr 2006 13:36:02 -0500 Tim Williams
<twilliams_alpha@hotmail.com> writes:
> That thumb-spike could have been useful for scratching...  ;-)
> 
> Poinar G. & Boucot, A.J. (2006) Evidence of intestinal parasites of 
> 
> dinosaurs. Parasitology. 20: 1-5 [Epub ahead of print]
> 
> Abstract: "Protozoan cysts and helminth eggs preserved in a 
> coprolite from 
> the Early Cretaceous Bernissart _Iguanodon_ shaft in Belgium 
> demonstrate 
> that representatives of 3 phyla parasitized dinosaurs by that 
> period. These 
> fossil parasite stages are described and their possible effect on 
> dinosaurs 
> discussed. These findings represent the earliest fossil records of 
> protozoan 
> and helminth parasites of terrestrial vertebrates."
>