Suara.com – Scientists discover species beetle 230 million years old, preserved in fossil dung dinosaur ancestors.
This species is a new beetle family and likely served as food for the ancestors of dinosaurs in the Triassic Period.
These findings give experts the opportunity to learn about ancient gut bacteria to parasites in animal waste.
“We didn’t know what insects looked like in the Triassic Period and now we have a chance,” said Martin Fikacek, an entomologist at National Sun Yat-sen University. CNET, Thursday (1/7/2021).
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Using the synchrotron microtomography method, the experts analyzed the impurities.
The technique allowed the team to 3D visualize internal structures within the fossil with high resolution and contrast.
The researchers found the beetles still had their legs and antennae intact. Most likely, the chemical composition of coprolites helped preserve the creature.
The team eventually named the species Triamyxa coprolithica. While still alive, these animals may live in semi-aquatic or humid environments.
The beetle was most likely ingested and expelled in feces by Silesaurus opolensis, the ancestor of a two-meter-long beaked dinosaur.
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