Evidence of Toxocara Eggs in Pachycrocuta brevirostris (Gervais, 1850) Coprolites from the Pleistocene of Taurida Cave (Crimea)
Journal: Doklady Biological Sciences
Year: 2022

Coprolites of the hyena Pachycrocuta brevirostris from the Lower Pleistocene (Upper Villafranchian) of Taurida Cave (Crimea) were studied. One of the three hyena coprolites contained helminth eggs. These eggs were assigned to Toxocara sp. based on their size and morphology. Toxocariasis was evidently a very common infestation among extinct hyena species. The find of toxocara in P. brevirostris coprolite from the Taurida Cave is the earliest evidence of roundworm infestation in P. brevirostris.