Fleas are highly specialized holometabolic insects. So far, only 16 species of fossil fleas in five families have been reported
due to the rare fossil records. At present, the earliest flea fossils are reported from the Middle Jurassic Jiulongshan
Formation of Northeastern China. The descriptions of these earliest species pushed back the origin of Siphonaptera
by at least 40 million years. It is generally accepted that saurophthirids are the “transitional” taxa from stem Jurassic
fleas to living crown groups. Herein, we described a new “transitional” flea species, Saurophthirus laevigatus Zhang,
Shih, Rasnitsyn, and Gao sp. nov., from the Lower Cretaceous Yixian Formation of Northeastern China, assigned to
Saurophthiridae. The new species provides new evidence to support saurophthirids as a “transitional” group. Sexual
dimorphism suggests significant differences in biology of opposite sexes in Saurophthirus. Analysis of described
Mesozoic species demonstrates the body size reduction from the Middle Jurassic to the Early Cretaceous. Smaller body
size was likely advantageous in reducing the probability of being detected and removed by the host and in minimizing
flea’s demand for blood intake and energy input, indicating the adaptation of the ectoparasitic lifestyle of fleas in their
early stage of evolution.
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