A megafauna's microfauna: gastrointestinal parasites of New Zealand's extinct Moa (Aves: Dinornithiformes)
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Date
2013
Authors
Wood, J.
Wilmshurst, J.
Rawlence, N.
Bonner, K.
Worthy, T.
Kinsella, J.
Cooper, A.
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Farke, A.A.
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Journal article
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PLoS One, 2013; 8(2):1-9
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Jamie R. Wood, Janet M. Wilmshurst, Nicolas J. Rawlence, Karen I. Bonner, Trevor H. Worthy, John M. Kinsella and Alan Cooper
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Abstract
We perform the first multidisciplinary study of parasites from an extinct megafaunal clade using coprolites from the New Zealand moa (Aves: Dinornithiformes). Ancient DNA and microscopic analyses of 84 coprolites deposited by four moa species (South Island giant moa, Dinornis robustus; little bush moa, Anomalopteryx didiformis; heavy-footed moa, Pachyornis elephantopus; and upland moa, Megalapteryx didinus) reveal an array of gastrointestinal parasites including coccidians (Cryptosporidium and members of the suborder Eimeriorina), nematodes (Heterakoidea, Trichostrongylidae, Trichinellidae) and a trematode (Echinostomida). Parasite eggs were most prevalent and diverse in coprolites from lowland sites, where multiple sympatric moa species occurred and host density was therefore probably higher. Morphological and phylogenetic evidence supports a possible vicariant Gondwanan origin for some of the moa parasites. The discovery of apparently hostspecific parasite taxa suggests paleoparasitological studies of megafauna coprolites may provide useful case-studies of coextinction.
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Copyright: © 2013 Wood et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.