Dinosaur fleas

To attack dinosaurs, fleas from 165 million years ago must also grow to size commensurate with the massive body of the host.

According to a report in the Current Biology magazine, Chinese experts claim to have discovered the world's oldest flea species in the Inner Mongolia area.

The external appearance is quite similar to that of modern fleas, these organisms are only different from each other, 10 times bigger than their current relatives and of course they "hurt every bit of it".

Dinosaur fleas have bitten pain like needles - (Photo: Oregon State University)

The emeritus professor of Oregon State University, George Poinar analyzed, with such a "massive" size, each bite of them could be equivalent to the action of pressing the needle under the skin.

'We should be grateful that fleas are not so big now ,' he said.

Although similar to fleas of today, fossil fleas discovered in Inner Mongolia belong to another extinct strain.

Named Pseudopulex jurassicus and Pseudopulex magnus , they have more beautiful bodies, like lice, and long jaws that can pierce the dense skin of dinosaurs to suck blood.

In addition to the miniature size, fleas of this time have shorter antennae that allow them to move faster between the thick coat of the host.