Juracanthocephalus Daohugouensis: the name is not very easy to pronounce or remember, yet it could be one of the most interesting fossils discovered in recent years. It is in fact a parasitic worm, similar to those that today infest birds and crocodiles, and in addition to being the oldest representative of his phylum it has also been found “alone”, and not, as often happens with parasites, inside his guest. The worm was described in a study published on Nature.
An exceptional fossil. Juracanthocephalus belongs to phylum of the Acanthocephalawhich includes a thousand species of parasitic worms, which infest vertebrates of all kinds but are particularly dangerous for fish farms. He is also the oldest representative ever discovered of his phylum: found in the Tiajishan Formation, in China, dates back to the Jurassicabout 165 million years ago.
The most interesting aspect of the fossil, however, is that it was found, perfectly preserved, in what in the Jurassic was the bed of a volcanic lake. It is very rare that the worms are preserved in this way, having the soft body and being without skeletal structures that can easily fossilize, e Usually they are still found trapped in the body of their guest.
The solitary worm (literally). JuracanthocephalusInstead, he died alone. Not only that: he had jaws that suggest that perhaps, unlike his current relatives, also had a digestive systemand could therefore also feed in the absence of a guest. Finally, there is the fact that it is a Exceptionally large parasite: Is it possible that he lived in the belly of a dinosaur?
And if this were the case, is it possible that he was found “alone” why had the dinosaur himself just managed to expel him? There are already several fossil tests of the fact that Dinosaurs had parasitic problems (Tenies, for example, have existed for 100 million years), and Juracanthocephalus Daohugouensis It could be added to the list: new analyzes will be needed, and perhaps new fossils, to find the answer.
