Paleoparasitological records in a canid coprolite from Patagonia, Argentina.

Abstract

In this note, organic remains identified as a canid coprolite were examined. The material was dated at 6540 +/- 110 B.P.; it was collected in the Perito Moreno National Park, Santa Cruz, Argentina. Paleoparasitological analysis was performed following standard procedures. Coprolite fragments were rehydrated in a trisodium phosphate aqueous solution and subjected to spontaneous sedimentation for microscope analysis. Eggs of nematodes identified as Trichuris sp., Capillaria sp., Uncinaria sp., and an ascaridid (probably Toxascaris sp.) or spirurids (presumably Physaloptera sp.), plus a cestode (Anoplocephalidae), presumably Moniezia sp., were found.