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Photo#96144
Beaver Parasite Beetle - Platypsyllus castoris

Beaver Parasite Beetle - Platypsyllus castoris
Highway 160, three miles north of the Antioch Bridge, on the East Bank of the Sacramento River, Sacramento County, California, USA
June 30, 1998
Size: 2mm
Dorsal view. Beetle collected by Natalia Belfiore on June 30, 1998, from an otter killed by an automobile. Identified by Steve Heydon; ID confirmed by Stewart Peck. Stored in Hoyers medium between 1998 and 2006 (when this photo was taken). A note regarding this specimen was published in The Coleopterists Bulletin, 60(4):312–313, 2006, along with these photos. This species had not previously been described as occurring on otters.

Images of this individual: tag all
Beaver Parasite Beetle - Platypsyllus castoris Beaver Parasite Beetle - Platypsyllus castoris

Taxonomy/Evolution
How on earth does an animal go from eating fungus from rotting logs to feeding off of a giant amphibious rodent? D;

Great find though!

 
Or in this case
a giant amphibious weasel ;-)

Wow!
Excellent addition, Joyce. I strip-searched a dead beaver in 2005 hoping to find some of these. Nothing I found had six legs though :-)

 
it would be fun
to see one of these alive. Not likely in my case but maybe I'll be lucky one day.

 
great addition
At first glance, looked like a flea - similar habitat, similar adaptations. Like it.

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