Invavita

Invavita piratica is an extinct, parasitic species of tongue worm, provisionally assigned to the order Cephalobaenida, from Ludlow-aged England. Despite the common name, tongue worms are actually highly modified crustacean arthropods closely related to barnacles and copepods, not worms; the Pentastomida are obligate parasites.[1][2] It possessed a head, a worm-like body, and two pairs of limbs.[3]

Invavita piratica
Temporal range: Ludlow
↓
reconstruction of I. piratica on its host, Nymphatelina gravida
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Arthropoda
Subphylum:
Crustacea
Class:
Maxillopoda
Subclass:
Pentastomida
Order:
Cephalobaenida
Genus:
Invavita
Species:
I. piratica
Binomial name
Invavita piratica
(Siveter et al, 2015)

The 425-million-year-old Silurian fossil holotype specimen was found still attached to its fossilised host, a specimen of the ostracod Nymphatelina gravida, at an undisclosed location in England.[1] It is now in Oxford University Museum of Natural History. It was first described in the journal Current Biology in 2015.[2]

Etymology

The generic name is a New Latin compound word combining "invasor" and "avitus," and roughly translates as "ancient intruder." The specific name refers to piracy; both names referring directly to the organism's obvious parasitic lifestyle.[2]

References
  1. Gill, Victoria (22 May 2015). "A 425-million-year-old parasite found attached to host". BBC Online. Retrieved 22 May 2015.
  2. Siveter, David J.; Briggs, Derek E.G.; Siveter, Derek J.; Sutton, Mark D. (2015). "A 425-Million-Year-Old Silurian Pentastomid Parasitic on Ostracods". Current Biology. 25 (12): 1632–1637. doi:10.1016/j.cub.2015.04.035. PMID 26004764.
  3. "Requiem for an ancient tongue worm". Yale News. 2015-05-21. Retrieved 5 June 2015.
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