technique to a coprolite, that is a 230

million-year-old lump of fossil excrement,

presumed to have been produced by a

Triassic dinosaur relative. It was shown to

be full of tiny beetles belonging to a new

genus and species of Myxophaga, now

named Triamyxa coprolithica. This not only

opens a window onto ancient ecosystems,

but also shows that amber is not the only

substance to allow detailed preservation

across huge expanses of geological time

left | Sphaerius

(Sphaeriusidae)

Like a living

punctuation mark,

this North American

species is similar to

other members of

the genus worldwide.

opposite | Lepicerus inaequalis This

tiny beetle from Central America can

be found among sand under waterfalls

and alongside forest streams.

called torrent beetles for their association with

fast-flowing streams and waterfalls, where they live

in the splash zone, not in the water itself. The three

species of Lepicerus (Lepiceridae) are found in leaf

litter in the neotropics, and the most recently named

was discovered in agricultural fields in Ecuador.