Scientists Find Fossil Giant Flea

BEIJING - Scientists discovered fossils from China known as the giant flea Pseudopulex name Magnus. The animal was said to have approximately 10 times the size of fleas on pets.

Reported by International Business Times, Thursday (05/03/2012), ticks were found in the area of ​​Mongolia, China is believed to suck the blood of dinosaurs in his day around millions of years ago. "This is an insect which is much larger than modern lice. From the size of the proboscis (proboscis similar) on the flea, we can say that part has its own function," says Professor Emeritus of Zoology at Oregon State University, George Poinar.

The study states, although lice infestation is similar to the modern look, but they are not identical. Scientists believe the giant flea has a separate lineage, and finally extinct.

The scientists found the body of a giant bug that has a flat shape like a bedbug (bedbugs). In addition, it also has a giant bug-shaped claw length that can penetrate the skin of dinosaurs, so that ticks can suck his blood.Meanwhile, scientists say that the modern lice have antennae shorter and able to move quickly on pet dander. "You will not talk about the good old days when you were bitten by these insects. It will feel like a syringe, the sting of fleas. We can be thankful for this bug is not modern," said Poinar.

"It's really well-preserved fossils. These findings give a glimpse of a picture of life in the past, at the time of the Cretaceous (chalk) and the Jurassic," he added.

Although head lice infestation is not as modern giants in antiquity, but modern lice also can be detrimental. Almost every dog ​​or cat has escaped from the attack of modern lice. Small animals can also carry diseases to humans, such as bubonic plague disease (plague) that supposedly killed up to 75 million people.

Overview of the bubonic plague, bubonic plague is a disease caused by Yersinia pestis enterobakteria (named by the French bacteriologists aje Yersin). Bubonic plague carried by rodents (especially mice). Outbreaks of these diseases often occur in various parts of the world and has caused great loss of life.

Source

Share this post