Ticks are currently among the most prevalent blood-feeding ectoparasites, but their feeding
habits and hosts in deep time have long remained speculative. Here, we report direct and …

Four fossil ticks (Arachnida: Parasitiformes: Ixodida) are described from mid-Cretaceous (ca.
100 Ma) Burmese amber of Myanmar. Ixodes antiquorum sp. nov.(Ixodidae) is the first …

Ticks are monophyletic and composed of the hard (Ixodidae) and soft (Argasidae) tick
families, as well as the Nuttalliellidae, a family with a single species, Nuttalliella namaqua …

Ticks are obligate hematophagous ectoparasites of terrestrial vertebrates. Hypotheses on
the origin of ticks have been proposed based on tick-host associations and the total …

Millions of years ago in the Cretaceous period, the mighty Tyrannosaurus rex--with its
dagger-like teeth for tearing its prey to ribbons--was undoubtedly the fiercest carnivore to …

Due to a lack of Mesozoic fossil records, the origins and early evolution of feather-feeding
behaviors by insects are obscure. Here, we report ten nymph specimens of a new lineage of …

When a vertebrate carcass begins its decay in terrestrial environments, a succession of
different necrophagous arthropod species, mainly insects, are attracted. Trophic aspects of …

The evolution of eusociality in ants and termites propelled both insect groups to their modern
ecological dominance. Yet, eusociality also fostered the evolution of social parasitism—an …

Termitophiles, symbionts that live in termite nests, include a wide range of morphologically
and behaviorally specialized organisms. Complex adaptive mechanisms permit these …

The occurrence of arthropods in amber exclusively from the Cretaceous and Cenozoic is
widely regarded to be a result of the production and preservation of large amounts of tree …