Pseudopulex

• Inner Mongolia (China)

Pseudopulex is an extinct genus of the Mesozoic. These insects probably lived as parasites on the blood of large feathered or hairy land vertebrates, such as dinosaurs, pterosaurs or earlier mammals. Well-preserved fossils have been found in China in the area of Inner Mongolia. The genus name is a combination of ancient Greek ψεῦδος NICKS, lies, deception, fraud, ' and the Latin pulex flea '.

So far, two species have been described, Pseudopulex jurassicus from the Jurassic Jiulongshan Formation ( about 165 million years old ) and P. magnus, from 130-120 million years old Yixian Formation of Early Cretaceous ( Barremian / Aptian lower ).

Features

Pseudopulex 17 to 22.8 mm was long without probe. The insects were covered with stiff, rear-facing bristles body, short antennae with more than 15 segments, reduced eyes, strong, stilettartige, sawn mouthparts, sickle-shaped claw on pretarsus and peg-like spines on the rails ( tibia ). Wings were missing. The mouthparts were twice as long as the head ( about 3.4 to 5.2 mm ).

System

In her traits they resemble fleas ( Siphonaptera ), in particular the primitive sand fleas ( Tungidae ). Pseudopulex but did not have the typical fleas jumping legs and their bodies were not laterally flattened. Since no diagnostic features for classification within the fleas were found, Pseudopulex is placed in the newly formed family Pseudopulicidae which is conducted within the insect incertae sedis provisionally ( without assignment ).

Way of life

In the sites of both types Pseudopulex the fossils were from small, feathered dinosaurs (11,6 up to 220 cm long), pterodactyls (60 to 240 cm long), birds ( 15 to 60 cm long) and early mammals ( 5-68 cm long) found.

Because of the size of the Pseudopulex species and their long mouthparts, it is considered unlikely that small mammals or birds were victims of the parasites. Larger feathered dinosaurs, pterosaurs or medium-sized mammals ( only from the Lower Cretaceous ), however, were ideal host animals. Pseudopulex could hold with strong, clawed feet on the feathers or the fur of the victims. As they could neither good nor jump run, the insects probably had a large part of their life on a single individual, possibly almost constantly sucked firmly, spend.

Possibly the ectoparasitic lifestyle of fleas on feathered dinosaurs or pterodactyls has developed and the insects later switched to smaller hosts (mammals and birds) and were adjusted at by reducing the body size and a shortening of the mouthparts of these.