A Megafauna’s Microfauna: Gastrointestinal Parasites of New Zealand’s Extinct Moa (Aves: Dinornithiformes)
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Date
2013
Authors
Wood, Jamie
Wilmshurst, Janet M
Rawlence, Nicolas J
Bonner, Karen I
Worthy, Trevor
Kinsella, John M
Cooper, Alan
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Public Library of Science
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Copyright © 2013 Wood et al.
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Wood et al.
Abstract
We perform the first multidisciplinary study of parasites from an extinct megafaunal clade using coprolites from the New
Zealand moa (Aves: Dinornithiformes). Ancient DNA and microscopic analyses of 84 coprolites deposited by four moa
species (South Island giant moa, Dinornis robustus; little bush moa, Anomalopteryx didiformis; heavy-footed moa, Pachyornis
elephantopus; and upland moa, Megalapteryx didinus) reveal an array of gastrointestinal parasites including coccidians
(Cryptosporidium and members of the suborder Eimeriorina), nematodes (Heterakoidea, Trichostrongylidae, Trichinellidae)
and a trematode (Echinostomida). Parasite eggs were most prevalent and diverse in coprolites from lowland sites, where
multiple sympatric moa species occurred and host density was therefore probably higher. Morphological and phylogenetic
evidence supports a possible vicariant Gondwanan origin for some of the moa parasites. The discovery of apparently hostspecific
parasite taxa suggests paleoparasitological studies of megafauna coprolites may provide useful case-studies of
coextinction.
Description
This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
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Citation
Wood JR, Wilmshurst JM, Rawlence NJ, Bonner KI, Worthy TH, Kinsella JM, et al. (2013) A Megafauna’s Microfauna: Gastrointestinal Parasites of New Zealand’s Extinct Moa (Aves: Dinornithiformes). PLoS ONE 8(2): e57315. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0057315