0000000000132891
AUTHOR
Valentina N. Karatajūtė-talimaa
The earliest evidence of host-parasite interactions in vertebrates
Luk s evics, E., Lebedev, O. A., Mark-Kurik, E. and Karataj u te-Talimaa, V. 2009. The earliest evidence of host‐parasite interactions in vertebrates. — Acta Zoologica (Stockholm) 90 (Suppl. 1): 335‐343 Traces of parasite action have been discovered in the Middle‐Upper Devonian fish from Estonia, Latvia and European Russia. Such traces are known in heterostracan Psammolepis venyukovi , antiarchs Asterolepis radiata and Bothriolepis ciecere , sarcopterygians Holoptychius sp., Ventalepis ketleriensis and Eusthenodon sp. nov. The traces include evidence of parasitic fixation and penetration as well as dwelling traces. Pathologies are developed as (1) round fossulae on the external surface of b…
Bite marks as evidence of predation in early vertebrates
Study of lifetime bite traces on agnathans and fish (or gnathostomes) from Ukraine, Estonia, Latvia and north-western and central European Russia reveals evidence of predator–prey relationships in communities of Devonian age. Numerous bite traces on skeletal parts of agnathan pteraspidiforms and psammosteiforms, placoderm arthrodires and antiarchs and sarcopterygian porolepiforms and osteolepiforms are described. Evidence of healing shows that prey organisms responded to predation by reconstruction of damaged skeletal elements. Ichthyofaunistic analysis is used to establish possible predators. The most probable predators in the Middle and Late Devonian communities are sarcopterygian porolep…