New evidence connects dung beetle evolution to dinosaurs
Wednesday, May 4, 2016 - 14:50
in Paleontology & Archaeology
Researchers have found an evolutionary connection between dinosaurs and dung beetles. Scientists uncovered the first molecular evidence indicating that dung beetles evolved in association with dinosaurs. The findings place the origin of dung beetles in the Lower Cretaceous period, with the first major diversification occurring in the middle of the Cretaceous. This timeline places their origins approximately 30 million years earlier than previously thought.