title: Earliest Evidence of Toxocara sp. in a 1.2-Million-Yr-Old Extinct Hyena (Pachycrocuta brevirostris) Coprolite from Northwest Pakistan.
abstract: The study of fossil parasites can provide insight into the antiquity of host-parasite relationships and the origins and evolution of these paleoparasites. Here, a coprolite (fossilized feces) from the 1.2-million-yr-old paleontological site of Haro River Quarry in northwestern Pakistan was analyzed for paleoparasites. Micromorphological thin sectioning and Fourier-transform infrared spectrometry (FTIR) analysis confirms the coprolite belonged to a bone-eating carnivore, likely the extinct giant short-faced hyena (Pachycrocuta brevirostris). Parasitological analysis shows the coprolite to be positive for Toxocara sp. To our knowledge, this is the earliest evidence for Toxocara sp. found.
authors.affiliation: Department of Human Evolution, Max Plank Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig 04103 Germany.
authors.forename: Angela R
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Perri
authors.affiliation: Department of Human Evolution, Max Plank Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig 04103 Germany.
authors.forename: Susann
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Heinrich
authors.affiliation: Department of Human Evolution, Max Plank Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig 04103 Germany.
authors.forename: Shira
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Gur-Arieh
authors.affiliation: Department of Human Evolution, Max Plank Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, Leipzig 04103 Germany.
authors.forename: Jeffrey J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Saunders
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D005243:Feces / Q000469:parasitology; D005580:Fossils / Q000469:parasitology*; D005583:Fourier Analysis; D049690:History, Ancient; D045968:Hyaenidae / Q000145:classification / Q000469:parasitology*; D010154:Pakistan; D010164:Paleopathology; D013055:Spectrophotometry, Infrared; D014119:Toxocara / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D014120:Toxocariasis / Q000266:history