Aggregations of eudicot pollen and pollen-containing coprolites associated with Pelretes vivificus. a, Amber piece with P. vivificus, showing coprolites and one pollen aggregation. b-e, details of pollen under visible light (d) and confocal laser scanning microscopy (b, c, e). Scale bars: 1 mm (a), 50 um in (b, e), 100 um (c, d). Chenyang Cai, Yanzhe Fu and Yitong Su
Aggregations of eudicot pollen and pollen-containing coprolites associated with Pelretes vivificus. a, Amber piece with P. vivificus, showing coprolites and one pollen aggregation. b-e, details of pollen under visible light (d) and confocal laser scanning microscopy (b, c, e). Scale bars: 1 mm (a), 50 um in (b, e), 100 um (c, d). Chenyang Cai, Yanzhe Fu and Yitong Su - An amber fossil of a Cretaceous beetle has shed some light on the diet of one of the earliest pollinators of flowering plants. The animal's remains were unearthed by researchers at the University of Bristol and the Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (NIGPAS) who were able to study its fossil faecal matter, which was composed solely of pollen. Besides being a visitor of angiosperms - flowering plants - researchers now have conclusive evidence that the new fossil named Pelretes vivificus also fed on their pollen.
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