As if impending extinction wasn’t enough, dinosaurs were also plagued
by giant mega-fleas that impaled their soft underbellies and feasted on
their blood.
The super-fleas, which were around ten times the size of the fleas
that bother dogs nowadays had an extra-painful bite because of their
huge suckers.”These were insects much larger than modern fleas and from
the size of their proboscis we can tell they would have been mean,” said
George Poinar, a professor of zoology at Oregon State University.”It
would have felt about like a hypodermic needle going in – a flea shot,
if not a flu shot. We can be thankful our modern fleas are not nearly
this big.”Pseudopulex jurassicus and Pseudopulex magnus
had bodies that were flat, like a bedbug or tick, and long claws that
could reach over the scales on the skin of dinosaurs so they could stay
latched on while sucking their blood. Fleas today are more laterally
compressed, have shorter antennae and are able to move quickly through
the fur or feathers of their victims.
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