Parasites of dinosaurs

Every organism that exists today has at least one parasitic species that lives on or in it. Therefore, it isn’t surprising that extinct organisms had parasites, too. We could learn a lot about parasite evolution by studying parasite fossils, but studies of prehistoric parasites aren’t particularly common – in part because tiny, soft-bodied parasites don’t fossilize well. We do have some fossil evidence for prehistoric parasites, though, and you can read all about it in Tommy Leung’s recent paper and/or blog post. Bon appétit!