The small beetle Triamyxa coprolithica is the first-ever pest to be described from fossil feces. In a previous study, the authors designated coprolites with disarticulated beetle remains to Silesaurus based on the size and shape of the coprolites as well as a number of anatomical adjustments in the animal. Instead, Triamyxa likely shared an environment with bigger beetles, which are represented by disarticulated remains in the coprolites, and other victim, which never ever ended up in the coprolites in an identifiable shape.
The preservation of the beetles in the coprolite is comparable to specimens from amber, which normally yield the best-preserved insect fossils. Recommendation: “Exceptionally maintained beetles in a Triassic coprolite of putative dinosauriform origin” by Martin Qvarnström, Martin Fikácek, Joel Vikberg Wernström, Sigrid Huld, Rolf G. Beutel, Emmanuel Arriaga-Varela, Per E. Ahlberg and Grzegorz Niedzwiedzki, 30 June 2021, Current Biology.DOI: 10.1016/ j.cub.2021.05.015.

In a previous research study, the authors designated coprolites with disarticulated beetle stays to Silesaurus based on the size and shape of the coprolites as well as several anatomical adaptations in the animal. Rather, Triamyxa likely shared an environment with bigger beetles, which are represented by disarticulated remains in the coprolites, and other prey, which never ever ended up in the coprolites in a recognizable shape.
This video shows a 3D design of a likely Silesaurus coprolite with Triamyxa beetles. Credit: Qvarnström et al.
” I never thought that we would have the ability to find out what the Triassic precursor of the dinosaurs consumed for supper,” says Grzegorz Niedzwiedzki, paleontologist at Uppsala University and one of the co-authors of the paper.
The conservation of the beetles in the coprolite is similar to specimens from amber, which generally yield the best-preserved insect fossils. Amber, however, was generally formed during fairly recent geological time. This study shows that coprolites might be valuable for studying early insect advancement and, at the very same time, the diet plan of extinct vertebrates.
The synchrotron scanning was carried out at the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF) in Grenoble.
The tiny beetle Triamyxa coprolithica is the first-ever bug to be described from fossil feces. Credit: Qvarnström et al
. Referral: “Exceptionally preserved beetles in a Triassic coprolite of putative dinosauriform origin” by Martin Qvarnström, Martin Fikácek, Joel Vikberg Wernström, Sigrid Huld, Rolf G. Beutel, Emmanuel Arriaga-Varela, Per E. Ahlberg and Grzegorz Niedzwiedzki, 30 June 2021, Current Biology.DOI: 10.1016/ j.cub.2021.05.015.

The tiny beetle Triamyxa coprolithica is the first-ever insect to be described from fossil feces. The tiny beetle Triamyxa coprolithica is the first-ever bug to be described from fossil feces.
In a just recently published study in Current Biology, vertebrate paleontologists from Uppsala University and entomologists from National Sun Yat-sen University (Taiwan), Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena (Germany), and Universidad de Guadalajara (Mexico) utilized synchrotron microtomography to 3D-reconstruct the beetles while they were still trapped within the fossilized feces. The coprolite contained plentiful beetle body parts, the majority of belonging to the very same little species. A few specimens were found almost total, with much of the fragile legs and antennae still intact. The unspoiled state of these fossils made it possible to produce a comprehensive description of the new beetle genus and to compare it with more modern ones. Triamyxa coprolithica represents a previously unknown extinct family tree of the suborder Myxophaga, whose modern-day representatives are little and survive on algae in wet environments.
The animal the scientists need to thank for the exceptional preservation of the beetle Triamyxa coprolithica was probably the dinosaur forefather Silesaurus opolensis. Credit: Malgorzata Czaja
” We were absolutely amazed by the abundance and wonderful conservation of the beetles in the coprolite fragment. In a method, we should truly thank Silesaurus, which likely was the animal that assisted us collecting them,” states Martin Qvarnström, researcher at Uppsala University and one of the co-authors of the paper.