First-of-its-kind fossil of ancient marine creature reveals last meal as scientists use 3D tech to ‘spill its guts’
A 3D scan of a rare trilobite fossil has revealed what the prehistoric marine creature had in its stomach when it died.
The first-of-its-kind fossil has provided insight into the world of the ancient ocean.
The scan revealed that the trilobite ate what it could find on the seafloor.
This included shells, creatures similar to sea urchins, and other small marine animals found on the sea floor.
A study explaining the findings has been published in the journal Nature.
The researchers wrote: “Trilobites are among the most iconic of fossils and formed a prominent component of marine ecosystems during most of their 270-million-year-long history from the early Cambrian period to the end Permian period.”
And explained: ” Inferred trophic roles range from detritivores to predators, but all are based on indirect evidence such as body and gut morphology, modes of preservation and attributed feeding traces; no trilobite specimen with internal gut contents has been described.”
They go on to explain how they’re the first to full itemize the gut content of a type of trilobite known as Bohemolichas incola.
This was a rare species and lived about 465 million years ago.
It’s thought that 20,000 types of trilobites once existed.
They played a prominent role in the ocean but are now all extinct.
The small creatures ranged from around 3cm to as big as 60cm.
Scientists think the trilobite in the study was stuffing itself with food before it died.
Clumps in its tube-like gut suggest it was feeding constantly.
It’s thought scavengers had also attacked the trilobite before it died.
The researchers wrote: “Scavengers burrowing into the trilobite carcase targeted soft tissues below the glabella but avoided the gut, suggesting noxious conditions and possibly ongoing enzymatic activity.”