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      A megafauna’s microfauna: Gastrointestinal parasites of New Zealand’s extinct moa (Aves: Dinornithiformes)

      Wood, Jamie R.; Wilmshurst, Janet M.; Rawlence, Nicolas J.; Bonner, Karen I.; Worthy, Trevor H.; Kinsella, John M.; Cooper, Alan
      DOI
       10.1371/journal.pone.0057315
      Link
       www.plosone.org
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      Citation
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      Wood, J. R., Wilmshurst, J. M., Rawlence, N. J., Bonner, K. I., Worthy, T. H., Kinsella, J. M., & Cooper, A. (2013). A Megafauna’s Microfauna: Gastrointestinal Parasites of New Zealand’s Extinct Moa (Aves: Dinornithiformes). (A. A. Farke, Ed.)PLoS ONE, 8(2), e57315.
      Permanent Research Commons link: https://hdl.handle.net/10289/7367
      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 host-specific parasite taxa suggests paleoparasitological studies of megafauna coprolites may provide useful case-studies of coextinction.
      Date
      2013
      Type
      Journal Article
      Publisher
      Public Library of Science
      Collections
      • Science and Engineering Papers [3077]
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