In a groundbreaking discovery, an international team of researchers has uncovered a 100-million-year-old endoparasitic tapeworm fossil preserved in mid-Cretaceous amber from Myanmar. This rare find offers unprecedented insights into the evolution of parasitic worms and their hosts during the age of the dinosaurs.
The collaborative research involved scientists from the Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology under the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the University of Rostock in Germany, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Conservation in Myanmar, and Yunnan University. Their findings shed light on the complex ecosystem interactions that existed in ancient marine environments.
The tapeworm fossil, encapsulated in amber, was remarkably preserved, allowing researchers to study its morphological features in detail. Amber fossils serve as rare windows into the past, capturing organisms in a state of suspension for millions of years.
The mid-Cretaceous period, dating back approximately 100 million years, was a time of significant geological and biological changes on Earth. Discoveries like this tapeworm fossil contribute to our understanding of ancient biodiversity and the evolutionary processes that have shaped life on our planet.
Reference(s):
cgtn.com
