Evolution and Fossil Record of Parasitism

Dr. Kenneth De Baets is a paleobiologist in the faculty of Natural Sciences at Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nurnberg. He graduated from Ghent University with a Masters in Geology and earned his PhD in Evolutionary Biology at the University of Zürich.  His main research focuses on documenting and interpreting the relative contributions of abiotic (e.g., climate) and biotic factors (e.g., parasitism) in driving large-scale patterns in the evolution of life and biomineralization.Dr. John Huntley is an Associate Professor in the Department of Geological Sciences at the University of Missouri. He graduated from Appalachian State University with a Bachelors of Science in 2000, then earned his Masters in Geology at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington in 2003, and his PhD in Geosciences at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in 2007. His main research interests include the fossil record of biotic interactions, stratigraphic andconservation paleobiology, and the evolution of morphological disparity.

• Chapter 1. Parasites of Fossil Vertebrates: What We Know and What can We Expect from the Fossil Record?.- Chapter 2. Fossil Record of Viruses, Parasitic Bacteria and Parasitic Protozoa.- Chapter 3. Fungi as Parasites: A Conspectus of the Fossil Record.- Chapter 4: Evolution, Origins and Diversification of Parasitic Cnidarians.- Chapter 5. Evolutionary History of Bivalves as Parasites.- Chapter 6. Gastropods as Parasites and Carnivorous Grazers – A Major Guild in Marine Ecosystems.- Chapter 7: Fossil Constraints on the Timescale of Parasitic Helminth Evolution.- Chapter8. Thorny-headed Worms (Acanthocephala): Jaw-less Members of Jaw-bearing Worms that Parasitize Jawed Arthropods and Jaw-bearing Vertebrates.- Chapter 9. Chelicerates as Parasites.- Chapter 10. Evolutionary History of Crustaceans as Parasites.- Chapter 11. The History of Insect Parasitism and the Mid-Mesozoic Parasitoid Revolution.

"The diagrams, drawings, and photographs throughout are well done and professional, and really helped to tell the story being presented by each author. … the whole book was interesting to read. With all of that, The Evolution and Fossil Record of Parasitism is a great resource for anyone with a serious interest in the microworld of parasites and their role in the fossil record.” (Lorin R. King, The Quarterly Review of Biology, Vol. 97 (2), June, 2022)