A megafauna's microfauna: gastrointestinal parasites of New Zealand's extinct moa (Aves: Dinornithiformes).

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 hig

SUBMITTER: Wood JR 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3581471 | biostudies-literature | 2013

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature