"World's First Endoparasitic Marine Tapeworm Fossil Trapped in 99-Million-Year-Old Amber"
Scientists have discovered an enigmatic fossil of a tapeworm in mid-Cretaceous Kachin amber, providing the first partial body fossil of a tapeworm and shedding new light on the early evolution of these parasites. The fossil, dating back to about 100 million years ago, displays unique features consistent with extant trypanorhynch tapeworms that parasitize marine elasmobranchs, and its exceptional preservation in amber has also revealed insights into the taphonomy of amber. This discovery highlights the importance of amber research in paleoparasitology and suggests a possible scenario for the deposition of the tapeworm in the amber.