Pseudopulex ( lat. , From other Greek. Ψευδο- and lat. Pulex - “false flea”) is a fossil genus of giant fleas from the family Pseudopulicidae that fed on dinosaurs or pterosaurs . Inner Mongolia ( China ; Jurassic and Cretaceous sediments from 125 to 165 Ma). 2 types.
| † Pseudopulex | ||||||||||||
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Flea Pseudopulex | ||||||||||||
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| Latin name | ||||||||||||
| Pseudopulex Gao, Shih, & Ren, 2012 [1] |
Content
Description
They are similar to modern fleas, but their body was flattened, like that of bugs or ticks, and significantly larger (from 17 to 22.8 mm), in addition, they had long claws. Antenna more than 15 segments. The body is covered with stiff and backward setae. The oral apparatus (proboscis) is relatively very long: 3.44-5.15 mm. Pseudopulex are close to the Tungidae family, the most basal flea group, characterized by the absence of jumping legs and ctenidia on the pronotum [1] [2] .
Systematics
In 2017, the families Saurophthiridae , Pseudopulicidae, and Tarwiniidae were merged into the superfamily Saurophthiroidea Ponomarenko, 1986, stat. nov. [3] .
- Pseudopulex jurassicus Gao, Shih, & Ren, 2012 [1] typus - Jurassic
- Pseudopulex magnus Gao, Shih, & Ren, 2012 - Cretaceous
- Pseudopulex tanlan Gao et al. 2014 - Cretaceous period [4]
- Pseudopulex wangi Huang et al. 2013 - Jurassic period [5]
Notes
- ↑ 1 2 3 Gao, Tai-ping; Shih, Chung-kun, Xu, Xing, Wang, Shuo, Ren, Dong. Mid-Mesozoic Flea-like Ectoparasites of Feathered or Haired Vertebrates (English) // Current Biology: journal. - 2012 .-- 1 April ( vol. 22 , no. 8 ). - P. 732-735 . - DOI : 10.1016 / j.cub.2012.03.03.012 .
- ↑ 'Giant flea fed on dinosaur blood like mosquitoes' - NY Daily News . India.nydailynews.com. Date of treatment May 2, 2012. Archived on September 22, 2012.
- ↑ Rasnitsyn A.P. , Strelnikova O.D. (2017). Respiratory system and biology of the Early Cretaceous fossil Saurophthirus longipes Ponomarenko, 1976 (Insecta,? Aphaniptera, Saurophthiroidea stat. Nov.) . Paleontological journal . 2017. No. 2. P. 61—72. Publisher: Federal State Unitary Enterprise "Academic Scientific Publishing, Production, Printing and Book Distributing Center" Nauka "(Moscow) ISSN: 0031-031X DOI : 10.7868 / S0031031X17020143 .
- ↑ Gao TP, CK Shih, and AP Rasnitsyn . 2014. Taxonomic names, in The first flea with fully distended abdomen from the Early Cretaceous of China. BMC Evolutionary Biology 14 (168): 1-7.
- ↑ DY Huang, MS Engel, CY Cai and A. Nel. 2013. Mesozoic giant fleas from northeastern China (Siphonaptera): taxonomy and implications for palaeodiversity. Chinese Science Bulletin 58 : 1682-1690.
Links
- A giant flea attacked dinosaurs 165 million years ago . (Russian) (Retrieved May 22, 2012)