Invavita

Invavita piratica Temporal range: Ludlow PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N ↓
I. piratica (B-F) and its host, Nymphatelina gravida
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Subphylum:	Crustacea
Class:	Maxillopoda
Subclass:	Pentastomida
Order:	Cephalobaenida
Genus:	Invavita
Species:	I. piratica
Binomial name
Invavita piratica (Siveter et al, 2015)

Invavita piratica is an extinct, parasitic species of tongue worm, provisionally assigned to the order Cephalobaenida, from Herefordshire Lagerstätte, Ludlow-aged England. ^[1] It possessed a head, a worm-like body, and two pairs of limbs.^[2]

The 425-million-year-old Silurian fossil holotype specimen was found still attached to its fossilised host, a specimen of the ostracod Nymphatelina gravida, at an undisclosed location in England.^[3] It is now in Oxford University Museum of Natural History. It was first described in the journal Current Biology in 2015.^[1]

Etymology

The generic name is a New Latin compound word combining "invasor" and "avitus," and roughly translates as "ancient intruder." The specific name refers to piracy; both names referring directly to the organism's obvious parasitic lifestyle.^[1]

References

1. Siveter, David J.; Briggs, Derek E.G.; Siveter, Derek J.; Sutton, Mark D. (2015). "A 425-Million-Year-Old Silurian Pentastomid Parasitic on Ostracods". Current Biology. 25 (12): 1632–1637. doi:10.1016/j.cub.2015.04.035. hdl:10044/1/23597. PMID 26004764.
2. "Requiem for an ancient tongue worm". Yale News. 2015-05-21. Retrieved 5 June 2015.
3. Gill, Victoria (22 May 2015). "A 425-million-year-old parasite found attached to host". BBC Online. Retrieved 22 May 2015.