Multiple lineages of lice pass through the K-Pg boundary

作者：Smith Vincent S^*; Ford Tom; Johnson Kevin P; Johnson Paul C D; Yoshizawa Kazunori; Light Jessica E

来源：Biology Letters, 2011, 7(5): 782-785.

DOI：10.1098/rsbl.2011.0105

• Phthiraptera
• evolution
• cospeciation
• dating

For modern lineages of birds and mammals, few fossils have been found that predate the Cretaceous-Palaeogene (K-Pg) boundary. However, molecular studies using fossil calibrations have shown that many of these lineages existed at that time. Both birds and mammals are parasitized by obligate ectoparasitic lice (Insecta: Phthiraptera), which have shared a long coevolutionary history with their hosts. Evaluating whether many lineages of lice passed through the K-Pg boundary would provide insight into the radiation of their hosts. Using molecular dating techniques, we demonstrate that the major louse suborders began to radiate before the K-Pg boundary. These data lend support to a Cretaceous diversification of many modern bird and mammal lineages.

• 出版日期2011-10-23