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Parasitic diversity found in coprolites of camelids during the Holocene.
- Source :
-
Parasitology research [Parasitol Res] 2015 Jul; Vol. 114 (7), pp. 2459-64. Date of Electronic Publication: 2015 Apr 11. - Publication Year :
- 2015
-
Abstract
- Knowledge of parasitic infections to which fauna was exposed in the past provides information on the geographical origin of some parasites, on the possible dispersal routes and for archaeological fauna on the potential zoonotic risk that human and animal populations could be exposed. The aim of the present study was to examine the gastrointestinal parasite present in camelid coprolites collected from the archaeological site Cerro Casa de Piedra, cave 7 (CCP7), Patagonia, Argentina. Coprolites were collected from different stratified sequences dating from the Pleistocene-Holocene transition to the late Holocene. Paleoparasitological examination revealed the presence of eggs of Trichostrongylidae attributed to Lamanema chavezi or Nematodirus lamae, eggs of three unidentified capillariids, Strongylus-type eggs and oocysts of Eimeria macusaniensis. These parasites affected camelids living in the studied area since the Pleistocene-Holocene transition, about 10,000 years ago. Gastrointestinal parasite fauna of patagonian camelids did not vary significatively from Pleistocene-Holocene transition to late Holocene, although environmental conditions fluctuated greatly throughout this period, as indicative of the strength and the stability of these associations over time. In this study, the zoonotic and biogeography importance of parasites of camelids are also discussed.
- Subjects :
- Animals
Argentina
Camelids, New World parasitology
Fossils history
History, Ancient
Humans
Intestinal Diseases, Parasitic history
Paleopathology
Parasites classification
Parasites genetics
Biodiversity
Feces parasitology
Fossils parasitology
Intestinal Diseases, Parasitic parasitology
Parasites isolation & purification
Subjects
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 1432-1955
- Volume :
- 114
- Issue :
- 7
- Database :
- MEDLINE
- Journal :
- Parasitology research
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- 25859925
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-015-4442-y