Mermithid nematode (Nematoda: Mermithidae) parasites of a fossil black fly (Diptera: Simuliidae) in Baltic amber

Summary A new species of fossil mermithid, Heydenius simulphilus sp. n. (Nematoda: Mermithidae), is described from two parasitic juvenile specimens adjacent to a male black fly (Diptera: Simuliidae) in Baltic amber. It is proposed that the nematodes emerged from their developmental sites in the haem...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inNematology : international journal of fundamental and applied nematological research Vol. 22; no. 6; pp. 655 - 658
Main Authors Poinar, George O, Currie, Douglas C
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Leiden|Boston Brill 01.07.2020
Brill Academic Publishers, Inc
Subjects
Baltic amber
Black flies
Diptera
Fossils
Hemolymph
Mermithidae
Nematoda
Nematodes
New species
Parasites
Parasitism
Simuliidae
Structural damage
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Summary:Summary A new species of fossil mermithid, Heydenius simulphilus sp. n. (Nematoda: Mermithidae), is described from two parasitic juvenile specimens adjacent to a male black fly (Diptera: Simuliidae) in Baltic amber. It is proposed that the nematodes emerged from their developmental sites in the haemocoel of the black fly host through a wound in the abdomen of the latter, as indicated by the release of a droplet of haemolymph and damaged cuticle. Various internal structures of the nematodes are identified and related to those found on extant developing mermithids. This is the first fossil record of mermithid parasitism of a black fly.
ISSN:1388-5545
1568-5411
DOI:10.1163/15685411-00003328