| Invavita piratica | |
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| I. piratica (B-F) and its host, Nymphatelina gravida | |
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| Genus: | Invavita |
| Species: | I. piratica |
| Binomial name | |
| Invavita piratica (Siveter et al, 2015) | |
Invavita piratica is an extinct, parasitic species of tongue worm, provisionally assigned to the order Cephalobaenida, from Herefordshire Lagerstätte, Ludlow-aged England. [1] It possessed a head, a worm-like body, and two pairs of limbs.[2]
The 425-million-year-old Silurian fossil holotype specimen was found still attached to its fossilised host, a specimen of the ostracod Nymphatelina gravida, at an undisclosed location in England.[3] It is now in Oxford University Museum of Natural History. It was first described in the journal Current Biology in 2015.[1]
The generic name is a New Latin compound word combining "invasor" and "avitus," and roughly translates as "ancient intruder." The specific name refers to piracy; both names referring directly to the organism's obvious parasitic lifestyle.[1]