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Apologies to Monty Python for stealing their famous segue into another skit, but it felt apropos.
Researchers described a previously unknown species of extinct beetle, and it represents the first identifiable insect to have been discovered inside fossilized poop -- a coprolite[1]
The beetle was discovered while examining coprolites from what they assume was from a 6.5' to 7.5' long dinosaur relative (a Dinosauriform) that lived in what today is southwestern Poland, back some 230mya (Late Triassic), known as Silesaurus opolensis.
The researchers named the new beetle species Triamyxa coprolithica. The genus name is both a reference to the Triassic period, when they lived, and the suborder of bugs called Myxophaga (small aquatic or semiaquatic beetles that eat algae) which it belongs to, whereas the species name reflects what it was discovered in.
The study's lead author, Martin Qvarnström, a paleontologist and postdoctoral fellow at Uppsala University, Sweden remarked that the preservation was "facilitated by coprolites' calcium phosphatic composition. This together with early mineralization by bacteria likely helped to preserve these delicate fossils."
"Although Silesaurus appears to have ingested numerous individuals of Triamyxa coprolithica, the beetle was likely too small to have been the only targeted prey," Qvarnström explained. "Instead, Triamyxa likely shared its habitat with larger beetles, which are represented by disarticulated remains in the coprolites, and other prey, which never ended up in the coprolites in a recognizable shape. So it seems likely that Silesaurus was omnivorous, and that a part of its diet was comprised of insects."
Study co-author Martin Fikáček, an entomologist at National Sun Yat-sen University in Taiwan, noted that "We didn’t know how insects looked in the Triassic period and now we have the chance.”
Given that insect fossils preserved in three-dimensions like this are practically unheard of from the Triassic, make this an important discovery and will certainly inspire other researchers to examine coprolites much more closely.
As an aside, nearly 20 years ago I was involved with research that was trying to determine if T rex were carnivores or scavengers, where we thin sliced coprolites and examined them under a microscope to examine their contents. The research was inconclusive due to funding issues and trouble getting hold of verified T rex fossilized poop. Preliminary indications indicated they were both.
The entire paper, Exceptionally preserved beetles in a Triassic coprolite of putative dinosauriform origin can be read by clicking the hyperlink. Here is the abstract or summary from it:
1. Back in the early days of the show Pawn Stars, Rick frequently would cite fossilized poop as a way to describe something with no value that folks wanted to pawn. In this Rick is utterly clueless. The fact is that there is a thriving market for coprolites -- particularly from dinosaurs. It's sold in its "raw" rough form, polished and even made into jewelry.
Researchers described a previously unknown species of extinct beetle, and it represents the first identifiable insect to have been discovered inside fossilized poop -- a coprolite[1]
The beetle was discovered while examining coprolites from what they assume was from a 6.5' to 7.5' long dinosaur relative (a Dinosauriform) that lived in what today is southwestern Poland, back some 230mya (Late Triassic), known as Silesaurus opolensis.
The researchers named the new beetle species Triamyxa coprolithica. The genus name is both a reference to the Triassic period, when they lived, and the suborder of bugs called Myxophaga (small aquatic or semiaquatic beetles that eat algae) which it belongs to, whereas the species name reflects what it was discovered in.
The study's lead author, Martin Qvarnström, a paleontologist and postdoctoral fellow at Uppsala University, Sweden remarked that the preservation was "facilitated by coprolites' calcium phosphatic composition. This together with early mineralization by bacteria likely helped to preserve these delicate fossils."
"Although Silesaurus appears to have ingested numerous individuals of Triamyxa coprolithica, the beetle was likely too small to have been the only targeted prey," Qvarnström explained. "Instead, Triamyxa likely shared its habitat with larger beetles, which are represented by disarticulated remains in the coprolites, and other prey, which never ended up in the coprolites in a recognizable shape. So it seems likely that Silesaurus was omnivorous, and that a part of its diet was comprised of insects."
Study co-author Martin Fikáček, an entomologist at National Sun Yat-sen University in Taiwan, noted that "We didn’t know how insects looked in the Triassic period and now we have the chance.”
Given that insect fossils preserved in three-dimensions like this are practically unheard of from the Triassic, make this an important discovery and will certainly inspire other researchers to examine coprolites much more closely.
As an aside, nearly 20 years ago I was involved with research that was trying to determine if T rex were carnivores or scavengers, where we thin sliced coprolites and examined them under a microscope to examine their contents. The research was inconclusive due to funding issues and trouble getting hold of verified T rex fossilized poop. Preliminary indications indicated they were both.
The entire paper, Exceptionally preserved beetles in a Triassic coprolite of putative dinosauriform origin can be read by clicking the hyperlink. Here is the abstract or summary from it:
Summary
The Triassic was a crucial period for the early evolution and diversification of insects, including Coleoptera1, 2, 3—the most diverse order of organisms on Earth. The study of Triassic beetles, however, relies almost exclusively on flattened fossils with limited character preservation. Using synchrotron microtomography, we investigated a fragmentary Upper Triassic coprolite, which contains a rich record of 3D-preserved minute beetle remains of Triamyxa coprolithica gen. et sp. nov. Some specimens are nearly complete, preserving delicate structures of the legs and antennae. Most of them are congruent morphologically, implying that they are conspecific. Phylogenetic analyses suggest that T. coprolithica is a member of Myxophaga, a small suborder of beetles with a sparse fossil record, and that it represents the only member of the extinct family Triamyxidae fam. nov. Our findings highlight that coprolites can contain insect remains, which are almost as well preserved as in amber. They are thus an important source of information for exploring insect evolution before the Cretaceous-Neogene “amber time window.” Treated as food residues, insect remains preserved in coprolites also have important implications for the paleoecology of insectivores, in this case, likely the dinosauriform Silesaurus opolensis.
The Triassic was a crucial period for the early evolution and diversification of insects, including Coleoptera1, 2, 3—the most diverse order of organisms on Earth. The study of Triassic beetles, however, relies almost exclusively on flattened fossils with limited character preservation. Using synchrotron microtomography, we investigated a fragmentary Upper Triassic coprolite, which contains a rich record of 3D-preserved minute beetle remains of Triamyxa coprolithica gen. et sp. nov. Some specimens are nearly complete, preserving delicate structures of the legs and antennae. Most of them are congruent morphologically, implying that they are conspecific. Phylogenetic analyses suggest that T. coprolithica is a member of Myxophaga, a small suborder of beetles with a sparse fossil record, and that it represents the only member of the extinct family Triamyxidae fam. nov. Our findings highlight that coprolites can contain insect remains, which are almost as well preserved as in amber. They are thus an important source of information for exploring insect evolution before the Cretaceous-Neogene “amber time window.” Treated as food residues, insect remains preserved in coprolites also have important implications for the paleoecology of insectivores, in this case, likely the dinosauriform Silesaurus opolensis.
1. Back in the early days of the show Pawn Stars, Rick frequently would cite fossilized poop as a way to describe something with no value that folks wanted to pawn. In this Rick is utterly clueless. The fact is that there is a thriving market for coprolites -- particularly from dinosaurs. It's sold in its "raw" rough form, polished and even made into jewelry.
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