The quality of the blood cells is so good and the appearance of the cells so clear that it almost seems as if the specimen was made yesterday and in readiness for display in a museum. Not only is the specimen of great quality it also provides some background information of interest to parasitologists: the blood cells are infected with a parasite that infects monkeys today.
The parasite is Babesia microti and the dating of the amber shows that the parasite has been infecting animals for far longer than previously thought. To date over 100 species of Babesia have been identified. The parasite causes the disease babesiosis. This is a malaria-like parasitic disease; this is because the most common symptoms are fever and hemolytic anemia, symptoms that are similar to those of malaria. Today the parasite is the cause Texas cattle fever, which affects thousands of cattle in the state.
Amber sometimes reveals interesting specimens. Amber is fossilized tree resin. As a collectable, the rock-hard substance has been appreciated for its color and natural beauty since Neolithic times. Amber arises due to the defense mechanisms of certain kinds of tree. When the bark is punctured, a sticky resin oozes out to seal the damage. Some types of trees produce such copious quantities of resin that small creatures, as well as leaves and flowers from the trees themselves, get trapped. Amber resins data back millions of years.
The amber specimen with the blood cells and evidence of the parasitic infection dates back to a time when what is now the Dominican Republic was a tropical jungle. According to researcher Professor George Poinar two tiny holes in the cells “indicate that something picked a tick off the mammal it was feeding on, puncturing it in the process and dropping it immediately into tree sap.” He indicates this is consistent with the grooming behavior of monkeys, as well as providing rich detail about the history and evolution of diseases.
The new find has been presented to the Journal of Medical Entomology. The accompanying research paper is titled “Fossilized Mammalian Erythrocytes Associated With a Tick Reveal Ancient Piroplasms.”
