A mermithid nematode, Cretacimermis aphidophilus sp n. (Nematoda: Mermithidae), parasitising an aphid (Hemiptera: Burmitaphididae) in Myanmar amber: a 100 million year association

作者：Poinar George O Jr^*

来源：Nematology, 2017, 19(5): 509-513.

DOI：10.1163/15685411-00003063

• Caulinus burmitis
• fossil aphid
• fossil nematode
• mid-Cretaceous era
• morphology
• morphometrics
• new species
• taxonomy

A new species of fossil mermithid, Cretacimermis aphidophilus sp. n. (Nematoda: Mermithidae), is described from the primitive extinct aphid, Caulinus burmitis (Hemiptera: Burmitaphididae), in mid-Cretaceous Myanmar amber. Aphid parasitism by mermithid nematodes is rare today with only two known cases involving root-feeding aphids. Based on the habits of the parasitised extant aphid hosts, it is likely that the fossil aphid was also a root parasite and encountered the infective stage mermithid in the soil. Such fossils provide rare glimpses of nematode-host associations from the distant past and provide minimum dates for the appearance of specific mermithid clades.

• 出版日期2017