Trypanosoma antiquus
Encyclopedia
Trypanosoma antiquus is an extinct species
of kinetoplastid
(class Kinetoplastida), a monophyletic group of unicellular parasitic flagellate
protozoa
.
The genus name is derived from the Greek
trypano (borer) and soma (body) because of their corkscrew-like motion, and the species name from antiquua (old) reflecting the age of the specimen. All trypanosomes are heteroxenous (requiring more than one obligatory host in order to complete life cycle) or are transmitted through some variation of a vector.
The species was described in 2005 by George Poinar, Jr.
in the journal Vector-Borne & Zoonotic Diseases from metatrypanosomes preserved in several fecal pellets encased in Hymenaea protera
amber
The fossil was recovered in the Dominican Republic
from early Miocene
Burdigalian
stage deposits on the island of Hispaniola
. Included with the pellets and thought to be the origin for them, is the extinct kissing bug
Triatoma dominicana
. This association is the oldest known example of the vector association between Triatoma
and Trypanosoma
. The holotype
, deposited in the Oregon State University
as specimen number P-3-3, was mined from the La Toca mine in the Dominican Republic
. T. dominicana and T. antiquus lived in an environment similar to modern moist tropical rain forests. The preserved metatrypanosomes range in size from 11 to 20 µm with the average length being 15 µm. The species is placed in the Trypanosoma subgenus Schizotrypanum, and is identifiable by age and the average length being shorter than that of other Schizotrypanum species. Based on the contents of the amber specimen including three hematophagous insects, it is likely to have been formed in a tree cavity. Associated with the insects are several mammal hairs from an unidentified Chiropteran, the likely host for T. dominicana. The pellets are thought to have been deposited after the T. dominicana finished feeding on the host bat. Modern bat-hosted trypanosomes in the region are considered a vector for the fatal Chagas disease
in humans.
Species
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
of kinetoplastid
Kinetoplastid
The kinetoplastids are a group of single-cell flagellate protozoa, including a number of parasites responsible for serious diseases in humans and other animals, as well as various forms found in soil and aquatic environments...
(class Kinetoplastida), a monophyletic group of unicellular parasitic flagellate
Flagellate
Flagellates are organisms with one or more whip-like organelles called flagella. Some cells in animals may be flagellate, for instance the spermatozoa of most phyla. Flowering plants do not produce flagellate cells, but ferns, mosses, green algae, some gymnosperms and other closely related plants...
protozoa
Protozoa
Protozoa are a diverse group of single-cells eukaryotic organisms, many of which are motile. Throughout history, protozoa have been defined as single-cell protists with animal-like behavior, e.g., movement...
.
The genus name is derived from the Greek
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
trypano (borer) and soma (body) because of their corkscrew-like motion, and the species name from antiquua (old) reflecting the age of the specimen. All trypanosomes are heteroxenous (requiring more than one obligatory host in order to complete life cycle) or are transmitted through some variation of a vector.
The species was described in 2005 by George Poinar, Jr.
George Poinar, Jr.
George O. Poinar, Jr. is an entomologist and writer. He is known for popularizing the idea of extracting DNA from insects fossilized in amber, an idea which received widespread attention when adapted by Michael Crichton for the book and movie Jurassic Park.Poinar earned a B.S. and M.S. at Cornell...
in the journal Vector-Borne & Zoonotic Diseases from metatrypanosomes preserved in several fecal pellets encased in Hymenaea protera
Hymenaea protera
Hymenaea protera is an extinct prehistoric leguminous tree, the probable ancestor of present-day Hymenaea species. Most neotropical ambers come from its fossilized resin, including the famous Dominican amber.H...
amber
Dominican amber
Dominican amber is amber from the Dominican Republic. Resin from the extinct species Hymenaea protera is the source of Dominican amber and probably of most amber found in the tropics....
The fossil was recovered in the Dominican Republic
Dominican Republic
The Dominican Republic is a nation on the island of La Hispaniola, part of the Greater Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean region. The western third of the island is occupied by the nation of Haiti, making Hispaniola one of two Caribbean islands that are shared by two countries...
from early Miocene
Miocene
The Miocene is a geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about . The Miocene was named by Sir Charles Lyell. Its name comes from the Greek words and and means "less recent" because it has 18% fewer modern sea invertebrates than the Pliocene. The Miocene follows the Oligocene...
Burdigalian
Burdigalian
The Burdigalian is, in the geologic timescale, an age or stage in the early Miocene. It spans the time between 20.43 ± 0.05 Ma and 15.97 ± 0.05 Ma...
stage deposits on the island of Hispaniola
Hispaniola
Hispaniola is a major island in the Caribbean, containing the two sovereign states of the Dominican Republic and Haiti. The island is located between the islands of Cuba to the west and Puerto Rico to the east, within the hurricane belt...
. Included with the pellets and thought to be the origin for them, is the extinct kissing bug
Triatominae
The members of Triatominae , a subfamily of Reduviidae, are also known as conenose bugs, kissing bugs, assassin bugs or triatomines. Most of the 130 or more species of this subfamily are haematophagous, i.e. feed on vertebrate blood; a very few species feed on other invertebrates...
Triatoma dominicana
Triatoma dominicana
Triatoma dominicana is an extinct species of assassin bug in the subfamily Triatominae, the kissing bugs known from early Miocene Burdigalian stage Dominican amber deposits on the island of Hispaniola.....
. This association is the oldest known example of the vector association between Triatoma
Triatoma
Triatoma is a genus of assassin bug in the subfamily Triatominae The members of Triatoma are blood-sucking insects that can transmit serious diseases, such as Chagas disease....
and Trypanosoma
Trypanosoma
Trypanosoma is a genus of kinetoplastids , a monophyletic group of unicellular parasitic flagellate protozoa. The name is derived from the Greek trypano and soma because of their corkscrew-like motion. All trypanosomes are heteroxenous and are transmitted via a vector...
. The holotype
Holotype
A holotype is a single physical example of an organism, known to have been used when the species was formally described. It is either the single such physical example or one of several such, but explicitly designated as the holotype...
, deposited in the Oregon State University
Oregon State University
Oregon State University is a coeducational, public research university located in Corvallis, Oregon, United States. The university offers undergraduate, graduate and doctoral degrees and a multitude of research opportunities. There are more than 200 academic degree programs offered through the...
as specimen number P-3-3, was mined from the La Toca mine in the Dominican Republic
Dominican Republic
The Dominican Republic is a nation on the island of La Hispaniola, part of the Greater Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean region. The western third of the island is occupied by the nation of Haiti, making Hispaniola one of two Caribbean islands that are shared by two countries...
. T. dominicana and T. antiquus lived in an environment similar to modern moist tropical rain forests. The preserved metatrypanosomes range in size from 11 to 20 µm with the average length being 15 µm. The species is placed in the Trypanosoma subgenus Schizotrypanum, and is identifiable by age and the average length being shorter than that of other Schizotrypanum species. Based on the contents of the amber specimen including three hematophagous insects, it is likely to have been formed in a tree cavity. Associated with the insects are several mammal hairs from an unidentified Chiropteran, the likely host for T. dominicana. The pellets are thought to have been deposited after the T. dominicana finished feeding on the host bat. Modern bat-hosted trypanosomes in the region are considered a vector for the fatal Chagas disease
Chagas disease
Chagas disease is a tropical parasitic disease caused by the flagellate protozoan Trypanosoma cruzi. T. cruzi is commonly transmitted to humans and other mammals by an insect vector, the blood-sucking insects of the subfamily Triatominae most commonly species belonging to the Triatoma, Rhodnius,...
in humans.