Evidence of Toxocara Eggs in Pachycrocuta brevirostris (Gervais, 1850) Coprolites from the Pleistocene of Taurida Cave (Crimea)

Dokl Biol Sci. 2022 Jun;504(1):82-84. doi: 10.1134/S0012496622030036. Epub 2022 Jul 12.ABSTRACTCoprolites of the hyena Pachycrocuta brevirostris from the Lower Pleistocene (Upper Villafranchian) of Taurida Cave (Crimea) were studied. One of the three hyena coprolites contained helminth eggs. These eggs were assigned to Toxocara sp. based on their size and morphology. Toxocariasis was evidently a very common infestation among extinct hyena species. The find of toxocara in P. brevirostris coprolite from the Taurida Cave is the earliest evidence of roundworm infestation in P. brevirostris.PMID:35821300 | DOI:10.1134/S0012496622030036

Source: Doklady Biological Sciences - July 13, 2022 Category: Biology Authors: T N Sivkova D R Khantemirov D O Gimranov A V Lavrov A V Kochnev Source Type: research