New species of beetle found in 200 million-year-old fossil feces | Video

New species of beetle found in 200 million-year-old fossil feces | Video

New species of beetle found in 200 million-year-old fossil feces | Video

Like amber, fossilized droppings, or coprolites, can provide a lot of information about extinct animals. Ruth this … 07.03.2021, Sputnik world

2021-07-03T16:47+0000

2021-07-03T16:47+0000

2021-07-03T16:47+0000

Science

fossils

Paleontology

insects

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A team of researchers led by Martin Kvarnström from Uppsala University in Sweden created a 3D model of a portion of feces presumed to belong to Silesaurus opolensis in order to learn its diet and dimensions. This dinosaur ancestor inhabited what is now Poland between 237 and 227 million years ago, in the Triassic period. What caught the attention of paleontologists were the well-preserved fossils of the beetle inside the coprolite. The insects’ legs and antennae were completely intact. Upon closer examination with synchrotron microscopy, the study authors concluded that they belonged to a never-before-seen species, which they named Triamyxa coprolithica. Its name refers to the Triassic period and the fact that it belongs to the Myxophaga suborder. The 1.5-millimeter beetle “likely lived in humid or semi-aquatic environments, just like its modern relatives.” The researchers believe that this discovery could contribute to learning more about the early evolution of these insects, as the massive formation of amber only began in the Upper Cretaceous period, or between 100 and 66 million years ago. It had a kind of beak on the tip of its jaws that it used to get insects out of the ground. But while that dinosaur specimen swallowed several specimens of T. coprolithica, it’s possible that it also fed on larger insects. The droppings also contained small pieces of other foods.