title: The Geological Record of Parasitic Nematode Evolution.
abstract: This chapter discusses the evolutionary history of nematode parasites of invertebrates, vertebrates and plants based on fossil remains in amber, stone and coprolites dating from the Palaeozoic to the Holocene. The earliest parasitic nematode is a primitive plant parasite from the Devonian. Fossil invertebrate-parasitic nematodes first appeared in the Early Cretaceous, while the earliest fossil vertebrate-parasitic nematodes are from Upper Triassic coprolites. Specific examples of fossil nematode parasites over time are presented, along with views on the origin and evolution of nematodes and their hosts.
authors.affiliation: Department of Integrative Biology, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR 97331, USA. Electronic address: poinarg@science.oregonstate.edu.
authors.forename: George O
authors.initials: GO
authors.lastname: Poinar
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D005075:Biological Evolution; D005580:Fossils; D006790:Host-Parasite Interactions; D007448:Invertebrates / Q000469:parasitology; D009348:Nematoda / Q000145:classification* / Q000502:physiology*; D014714:Vertebrates / Q000469:parasitology
keywords: Amber; Evolution; Fossils; Nematode parasites; Origins