51
Other flies also vector trypanosomes and one biting midge, Leptoconops
nosopheris (Diptera: Ceratopogonidae), in mid-Cretaceous Myanmar amber
(Fig.  2.33) had trypanosomes of Paleotrypanosoma burmanicus in its midgut.
Trypanosomes also occurred in the head, salivary glands and salivary ducts of
L. nosopheris and some flagellates were in a salivary droplet that collected on the tip
of the proboscis (Fig. 2.34) (Poinar 2008). The vertebrate host of Paleotrypanosoma
burmanicus was probably a reptile (Auezova et al. 1990).
Kissing bugs (Hemiptera: Reduviidae), well known for their bloodsucking
habits, transmit a trypanosome to humans that causes Chagas disease (Trypanosoma
Fig. 2.30 Normal and
elongate nectomonad
promastigotes of
Paleoleishmania proterus
in the midgut lumen of the
sand fly, Palaeomyia
burmitis, in Burmese
amber. Scale bar = 3.4 μm
Fig. 2.31 Short procyclic
promastigotes of
Paleoleishmania proterus
in the midgut lumen of the
sand fly, Palaeomyia
burmitis, in Burmese
amber. Scale bar = 5.0 μm
2 Fossil Record of Viruses, Parasitic Bacteria and Parasitic Protozoa