Dinosaurs Found to Have had Massive Fleas with "Beaks" the Size of a MEDICAL SYRINGE - Polidicks

[quote]Yes, it appears that the greatest predators that ever roamed Earth suffered just as we mammals did — and as we still do. Fleas were thought to have evolved along with mammals — they like our soft skins and a diet of warm blood. Indeed, they were big — several times as big as current fleas — and equipped to feed. "They have this large beak," says zoologist George Poinar Jr. "Oh, it looks horrible. It looks like a syringe when you go to the doctor to get a shot or something."[/quote] [url]http://www.npr.org/2012/05/06/152019967/the-dinosaurs-nemeses-giant-jurassic-fleas[/url] [IMG]http://i.imgur.com/5MfCAwl.jpg[/IMG] All of my nope. Never going back that far in time.

If they were still really small proportional to what they were feeding off of I don't see the big deal.

Well I mean.. duh? I thought this was common knowledge? That prehistoric insects were so massive that even the strongest men of will and strength would rather eat powdered glass than come into contact with them. Actually, Nigel Marven did a neat documentary on the topic [t]http://blog.webosaurs.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/09/arthropleura_bbc.jpg[/t]

[code]Are you sure you want to delete Nope.avi?[/code]

You know it's bad when a zoologist says "Oh it looks horrible."

I want an army as pets. [editline]7th February 2013[/editline] I shall conquer the world with them.

Sounds like something from Australia.

[video=youtube;GZbCzzZqZ9g]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GZbCzzZqZ9g[/video]

I like how the zoologist was so horrified by the idea of the flea that he couldn't even be all formal.

[QUOTE=SGTNAPALM;39502450]I want an army as pets. [editline]7th February 2013[/editline] I shall conquer the world with them.[/QUOTE] I'm thinking an American sized flea circus.

How could they be so large? Not the fleas, but the other insects being referenced here, as my understanding is due to their exoskeletons most insects simply couldn't grow much larger than they are in current times.

[QUOTE=RoadOfGirl;39503040]How could they be so large? Not the fleas, but the other insects being referenced here, as my understanding is due to their exoskeletons most insects simply couldn't grow much larger than they are in current times.[/QUOTE] IIRC Exoskeletons limit you to a certain point, but even by todays standards we still have some pretty massive insects/arthropods, and back when there was a generally higher oxygen percentage in the atmosphere insects were generally much larger on average.

Oh god. If insects and other arachnids were huge back then, imagine 4 foot tall spiders chasing you through a jungle... I don't want to visit dinosaurs anymore.

[QUOTE=TurtleeyFP;39503389]Oh god. If insects and other arachnids were huge back then, imagine 4 foot tall spiders chasing you through a jungle... I don't want to visit dinosaurs anymore.[/QUOTE] now think an ARMY OF THEM

Whelp, there goes my dreams of riding dinosaurs. I don't want one of these riding me. [quote=Article]the legs don't look like they're built for jumping, as with modern fleas, but perhaps for grabbing onto the bumplike scales on a dinosaur so they could jab that proboscis into the skin between them.[/quote] No no no no no no.

[QUOTE=TurtleeyFP;39503389]Oh god. If insects and other arachnids were huge back then, imagine 4 foot tall spiders chasing you through a jungle... I don't want to visit dinosaurs anymore.[/QUOTE] Imagine what they'd look like when you blew them away with a high powered rifle.

Isn't this old news? I've seen that picture before. Also my dog has fleas, would be interesting if he was fighting them in an arena versus biting them off his ass.

[QUOTE=theevilldeadII;39503412]now think an ARMY OF THEM[/QUOTE] Starship Troopers: Now with 100% more Raptor hordes! Jesus, every thought just brings us closer and closer to an average world in Dwarf Fortress.

Fuck running from dinosaurs, I'd leg it like mad for any of those creepy crawlers. [img]http://cache.io9.com/assets/images/8/2010/10/21701757_them_lg.jpg[/img]

[QUOTE=TurtleeyFP;39503389]Oh god. If insects and other arachnids were huge back then, imagine 4 foot tall spiders chasing you through a jungle... I don't want to visit dinosaurs anymore.[/QUOTE] Imagine how they would taste. Would be cool to eat them just to say you did you know.

[QUOTE=RoadOfGirl;39503040]How could they be so large? Not the fleas, but the other insects being referenced here, as my understanding is due to their exoskeletons most insects simply couldn't grow much larger than they are in current times.[/QUOTE] They're limited more by their respiratory systems, hence why there were bigger bugs back when there was more oxygen

[QUOTE=markg06;39503465]Imagine what they'd look like when you blew them away with a high powered rifle.[/QUOTE] I'd be taking a flamethrower.

[QUOTE=Rents;39504548]I'd be taking a flamethrower.[/QUOTE] Then you would have 4 foot tall spiders on fire chasing you through a jungle.

I hate parasites so much. What was nature thinking when creating them?

[QUOTE=buro;39504590]I hate parasites so much. What was nature thinking when creating them?[/QUOTE] "LOL this shit will be SO cash"

[QUOTE=Computrix;39502609]Sounds like something from Australia.[/QUOTE] where do you think they came from? These are small size for Australia. We have to beat them away with sticks and baseball bats.

yeah that's nice man fuck sleeping anyways

[QUOTE=markg06;39503465]Imagine what they'd look like when you blew them away with a high powered rifle.[/QUOTE]I just had this mental image of unloading on a horde of them with some... belt-fed, 8-gauge automatic shotgun. I also had power armor. It was pretty cool.

This reminds me of "The beginning of the end" when all those giant grasshoppers where attacking [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jeJrGcfEiIc[/media]

Yes, they were at least 10 times the size of their modern descendants. Some grappled to dinosaurs with strong and long back legs, making them look like reversed crabs.