Short Wave Parasites Have Haunted Us For Millions Of Years
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Oct 24, 2025 Karma Nanglu, a paleontologist from UC Riverside, and Danielle de Carle from the University of Toronto, dive deep into ancient parasites. They discuss the enigmatic 'Riddler' fossil, revealing its connection to modern tube-building worms. The duo shares discovery tales of the oldest known leech fossil, suggesting a complex feeding evolution. They emphasize how reexamining museum collections with new technologies can uncover hidden treasures and rewrite our understanding of prehistoric life.
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Deep Time Origins Of Parasitism
- Parasites appear in the fossil record as far back as ~515 million years ago on brachiopods.
- Ancient worm-like tube-builders stole food from hosts just like modern parasitic behaviors.
The Riddler Mystery
- Karma describes a mysterious fossil nicknamed the "Riddler" that looked like a stylized question mark.
- The team shelved the puzzle for years before returning to investigate its origin.
Behavior Revealed By Trace Matching
- The Riddler traces matched modern spionid worms that bore into shells and build tubes.
- Matching modern behavior to fossil traces provides rare evidence of ancient parasite behavior.