Monday, March 5, 2012

[Geology2] Giant Fleas Ate Dinosaurs



I hate when that happens . . .

Giant Fleas Ate Dinosaurs

> The flea's features weren't always set in stone. Ancient fleas were larger 
> and had longer siphons to suck blood with than today's fleas, researchers 
> report in a study published online February 29 in Nature. 

> These and other new details gleaned from middle Jurassic and early 
> Cretaceous fossils unearthed in China could help scientists piece together how 
> these disease-spreading bugs evolved. The fossils date to between 165 million 
> and 125 million years ago and measure between 8 and 20.6 millimeters--as 
> much as six times the size of a modern human flea. 

> The early fleas' stiff bristles and claws suggest that these bugs latched 
> onto a variety of hairy or feather-covered animals, perhaps even dinosaurs, 
> say the scientists from the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the University of 
> Kansas in Lawrence and the Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle in Paris.

> Read more:
http://ow.ly/9oDJO



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