Figure 1. Fossilized nits of chewing lice, tightly affixed to feathers of an enantiornithine bird, entombed in mid-Cretaceous amber from northern Myanmar. (a) Isolated barbs and regularly arranged ...

The species, which the team named Mesophthirus engeli, had a body shape similar to modern lice and strong chewing mouthparts. The feathers it was found on were damaged, apparently from chewing, the ...