When the SPSE mechanism explaining MRLS was identified, it was immediately apparent that the model might be an ancient defensive mechanism of caterpillars, and that MRLS-like syndromes might well exist and be identified elsewhere.
A further indication of the possible ubiquity of caterpillar-related abortions comes from the western Sahara, where traditional camel pastoralists/herders have long known that pregnant camels exposed to caterpillars are at high likelihood of abortion or birth in a condition similar to the late-term MRLS fetuses.