Toxocara canis (Werner, 1782) Eggs in the Pleistocene Site of Menez-Dregan, France (300,000-500,000 Years Before Present)

Abstract

On the archaeological site of Menez-Dregan in Brittany, France, dated 300,000-500,000 years-old, paleoparasitological analysis of cave deposits led to the detection of well-preserved helminth eggs, which morphology and morphometry pointed to the diagnosis of Toxocara canis eggs, a parasite of carnivore mammals. Paleolithic remains suggested a parasitism of the hyena Crocuta spelaea or other canids that inhabited the region.