On 4/9/2011 12:41 AM, Tim Williams wrote:
So extant memers of Rhyncophthirina are ectoparasites of large, thick-skinned, sparsely-haired mammals - and these lice have adaptations to suit. But if the Rhyncophthirina have been around as long as the Anoplura... what were their hosts during the Cretaceous?
Don't know, but it sounds like the Rhyncophthirina might spend a lot of time reminiscing about the good old days.
Is the allometry of skin thickness in extant animals known well enough to speculate about details of the mouth parts required to parasitize a sauropod?
Certainly cowhide is thicker than rabbit-skin, but as a function of volume, I intuitively expect cowhide to be relatively thinner...