Beltrame María Ornela, Bellusci Agustín, Andrade Analía
Laboratorio de Paleoparasitología y Arqueología Contextual, Departamento de Biología, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata, Funes 3250, 7600 Mar del Plata, Buenos Aires, Argentina; Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Laboratorio de Paleoparasitología y Arqueología Contextual, Departamento de Biología, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata, Funes 3250, 7600 Mar del Plata, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Parasitol Int. 2018 Aug;67(4):362-365. doi: 10.1016/j.parint.2018.02.005. Epub 2018 Feb 27.
The Somuncurá Plateau is a Protected Natural Area located in the middle of the northern extra-Andean arid Patagonia. Inhabited by at least 20 small mammal species, is the place with the uppermost species richness in Patagonia. The aim of this study was to examine the parasite remains from micromammal coprolites collected in association with a bone sequence recovered at the east of the Somuncurá Plateau (site "Alero Las Lechuzas"). Coprolites came from the four temporal units previously defined: unit I (4790 ± 100 yrs. C B.P.), unit II, unit III (7840 ± 120 yrs. C B.P.) and unit IV. Each coprolite was processed, rehydrated, homogenized, processed by spontaneous sedimentation and examined using a light microscope. Coprolites and eggs were described, measured and photographed. Samples were positive for two nematode species: Helminthoxys caudatus Freitas, Lent & Almeida, 1937 (Oxyurida, Oxyuridae) and Trichuris spp. (Trichinellida: Trichuridae). This is the first paleoparasitological study developed for the Somuncurá Plateau Protected Area. Moreover, this is the first time that the genus Helminthoxys is reported from ancient times worldwide. Coprolites were attributed to the mountain cavy Microcavia australis (Rodentia, Caviidae).The presence of H. caudatus for the Middle Holocene of northern Patagonia contributes to the study of the history of the histricomorphs and pinworms relationships.
索蒙库拉高原是位于安第斯山脉北部干旱巴塔哥尼亚中部的一个自然保护区。这里至少栖息着20种小型哺乳动物，是巴塔哥尼亚物种丰富度最高的地方。本研究的目的是检查从索蒙库拉高原东部（“阿莱罗拉斯莱丘萨斯”遗址）回收的与骨骼序列相关的小型哺乳动物粪便化石中的寄生虫遗迹。粪便化石来自先前定义的四个时间单元：单元I（公元前4790±100年）、单元II、单元III（公元前7840±120年）和单元IV。对每个粪便化石进行处理、复水、均质化，通过自然沉降进行处理，并使用光学显微镜进行检查。对粪便化石和虫卵进行了描述、测量和拍照。样本检测出两种线虫呈阳性：尾状蠕虫（Helminthoxys caudatus Freitas、Lent & Almeida，1937年）（尖尾线虫目，尖尾线虫科）和鞭虫属（Trichuris spp.）（毛形线虫目：鞭虫科）。这是针对索蒙库拉高原保护区开展的首次古寄生虫学研究。此外，这是全世界首次从古至今报道蠕虫属。粪便化石被归因于山地豚鼠（Microcavia australis）（啮齿目，豚鼠科）。巴塔哥尼亚北部中全新世尾状蠕虫的存在有助于研究豚鼠亚目动物和蛲虫关系的历史。
