@ARTICLE{TreeBASE2Ref18046,
author = {Torsten Wappler and Vincent S. Smith and Robert C. Dalgleish},
title = {Scratching an ancient itch: an Eocene bird louse fossil.},
year = {2004},
keywords = {},
doi = {10.1098/rsbl.2003.0158},
url = {},
pmid = {},
journal = {Proceedings of the Royal Society B},
volume = {271},
number = {Suppl. 5},
pages = {S255--S258},
abstract = {Of the thirty extant orders of insects, all but one, the parasitic lice (Insecta: Phthiraptera), have a confirmed fossil record. Here we report the discovery of what appears to be the first bird louse fossil ? an exceptionally well-preserved specimen collected from the crater of the Eckfeld maar near Manderscheid, Germany. The 44 million year old specimen shows close phylogenetic affinities with modern feather louse ectoparasites of aquatic birds. Preservation of feather remnants in the specimens' foregut confirms its association as a bird ectoparasite. Based on a phylogenetic analysis of the specimen and palaeoecological data we suggest this louse was the parasite of a large ancestor to modern Anseriformes (swans, geese and ducks) or Charadriiformes (shorebirds). The crown group position of this fossil in the phylogeny of lice confirms the groups' long coevolutionary history with birds and points to an early origin for lice, perhaps inherited from early-feathered theropod dinosaurs.}
}
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Citation title:
"Scratching an ancient itch: an Eocene bird louse fossil.".
This study was previously identified under the legacy study ID S1027
(Status: Published).
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