New Beetle Species Found in 230-Million-Year-Old Fossilized Dung

Scientists were able to create a 3D reconstruction using X-Ray scans.

via Smithsonian

Several years ago, a group of researchers found fossilized poop, known as a coprolite, in the village of Krasiejów, Poland. Naturally, they decided to scan it using powerful X-rays. Preserved inside were several of the first ever fully intact beetles discovered in a coprolite.

These tiny bugs, about half-an-inch long, had fragile features such as antennae and legs exquisitely preserved. “We were like, ’wow’,” says Martin ‪Qvarnström, whose team first saw the scans of a fully intact beetle in late 2019. “It was looking right back at us from the screen.”

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