Tapeworm eggs in a 270 million-year-old shark coprolite

Remains of parasites in vertebrates are rare from the Mesozoic and Paleozoic. Once most parasites that live in – or pass through – the gastrointestinal tract of vertebrates, fossil feces (coprolites) or even intestinal contents (enterolites) can eventually preserve their remains. Here we announce the discovery of a spiral shark coprolite from the Paleozoic bearing a cluster of 93 small oval-elliptical smooth-shelled structures, interpreted as eggs of a tapeworm.The eggs were found in a thin section of an elasmobranch coprolite. Most of the eggs are filled by pyrite and some have a special polar swelling (operculum), suggesting they are non-erupted eggs. One of the eggs contains a probable developing larva. The eggs are approximately 145–155 mm in length and 88–100 mm in width and vary little in size within the cluster. The depositional and morphological features of the eggs closely resemble those of cestodes. Not only do the individual eggs have features of extant tapeworms, but their deposition all together in an elongate segment is typical to modern tapeworm eggs deposited in mature segments (proglottids). This is the earliest fossil record of tapeworm parasitism of vertebrates and establishes a timeline for the evolution of cestodes. This discovery shows that the fossil record of vertebrate intestinal parasites is much older than was hitherto known and that the interaction between tapeworms and vertebrates occurred at least since the Middle-Late Permian

Taenidium barretti Bradshaw, 1981 in the Malhada Vermelha Formation (Lower Cretaceous), Malhada Vermelha Basin, Ceará, Brazil

The invertebrate trace fossil record in the Malhada Vermelha Basin, although recognized, is quite sparse and poor from the Systematic Ichnology approach. Field researches carried out in this basin found the presence of these structures which are studied and taxonomically identified in the current work. The absence of wall lining and the presence of a meniscate backfill characteristic of Taenidium barretti allowed assigning this ichnospecies to the analyzed samples. These traces are ascribed here as the result of bioturbation activity in moist sediments exposed to subaerial conditions in paleoenvironmental features of a hot climate

Estudo tafonômico de afloramentos contendo vertebrados fósseis das Bacias do Iguatu, Cretáceo Inferior, nordeste do Brasil

Alguns afloramentos das bacias de Icó, Malhada Vermelha e Lima Campos(Cretáceo Inferior), Estado do Ceará, foram estudados objetivando compreender os ambientes deposicionais onde foram preservados os fósseis de vertebrados.Estes fósseis encontram-se desarticulados e fragmentados, entre outras características. Através do levantamento destes dados, foi possível estabelecer modelos tafonômicos para cada afloramento, e, tentativamente, distinguir os diversos modos de preservação destes restos fossilizados. Observou-se que o padrão de formação destas tafocenoses está relacionado a ambientes altamente energéticos, como em depósitos relacionados a eventos de rompimento de diques marginais (crevasse splay), onde elementos que já se encontravam desarticulados eram transportados, causando a intensa fragmentação dos mesmos.Some outcrops from Icó, Malhada Vermelha and Lima Campos basins (Early Cretaceous), State of Ceará, were studied for a better understanding of the depositional systems where vertebrate fossils were preserved. These fossils were found disarticulated, fragmented, among others features. Through of these data, it was possible to determinate taphonomic models for each outcrop, and, tentatively, to distinguish the different ways of preservation of those fossils. It was observed that the formation pattern of those taphocenoses are related with highly energetic environments, like crevasse splay, where the disarticulated elements were transported, causing the intense fragmentation of the bones

Estudo tafonômico de afloramentos contendo vertebrados fósseis das Bacias do Iguatu, Cretáceo Inferior, nordeste do Brasil

Alguns afloramentos das bacias de Icó, Malhada Vermelha e Lima Campos(Cretáceo Inferior), Estado do Ceará, foram estudados objetivando compreender os ambientes deposicionais onde foram preservados os fósseis de vertebrados.Estes fósseis encontram-se desarticulados e fragmentados, entre outras características. Através do levantamento destes dados, foi possível estabelecer modelos tafonômicos para cada afloramento, e, tentativamente, distinguir os diversos modos de preservação destes restos fossilizados. Observou-se que o padrão de formação destas tafocenoses está relacionado a ambientes altamente energéticos, como em depósitos relacionados a eventos de rompimento de diques marginais (crevasse splay), onde elementos que já se encontravam desarticulados eram transportados, causando a intensa fragmentação dos mesmos.Some outcrops from Icó, Malhada Vermelha and Lima Campos basins (Early Cretaceous), State of Ceará, were studied for a better understanding of the depositional systems where vertebrate fossils were preserved. These fossils were found disarticulated, fragmented, among others features. Through of these data, it was possible to determinate taphonomic models for each outcrop, and, tentatively, to distinguish the different ways of preservation of those fossils. It was observed that the formation pattern of those taphocenoses are related with highly energetic environments, like crevasse splay, where the disarticulated elements were transported, causing the intense fragmentation of the bones

El Papa-Moscas : periódico satírico: Año XXIII Número 1275 - 1900 Julio 29

Este trabalho constitui uma revisão de dados sobre uma das áreas da icnologia de vertebrados menos estudada, referente às paleotocas. Apresenta um conjunto de informações que auxilia o reconhecimento e a classificação destes icnofósseis, com ênfase nos registros do Paleozóico e Mesozóico. As principais características que devem ser consideradas são a largura, altura, comprimento e a complexidade, fatores que podem ser influenciados pelo tipo de sedimento em que a toca foi escavada, bem como pelo clima, o hábito do animal e o motivo da escavação. Além disso, a diferença entre o sedimento que preencheu – parcial ou totalmente - a toca e a rocha circundante é fundamental para seu reconhecimento. Com base nestes parâmetros, são apresentados diferentes tipos de paleotocas, das mais simples às mais complexas, incluindo suas morfologias, características dos prováveis construtores e tafonomia.In this paper is exposed one of the least studied areas of the Vertebrate Ichnology, the burrows. A series of characteristics that helps the recognition and classification of burrows from the Paleozoic and Mesozoic are analyzed. The main characteristics that can be analyzed are width, height, length and their complexity are influenced by the sediment where the burrow was excavated as well as the climate, animal habit and the aim of the excavation influence in the complexity of the tunnel. Besides, the difference of – partial or total - infilling of the burrow with the host rock is essential to recognize them. Based on these data different types of paleoburrows are shown, from the most simple to the complexes, their characteristics along the fossil record, as well as morphology, their burrowers and the taphonomy of them. Keywords: planning, master plan, ornamental rocks, sustainable development