''Triamyxa'' is an extinct

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

myxophaga Myxophaga is the second-smallest suborder of the Coleoptera after Archostemata, consisting of roughly 65 species of small to minute beetles in four families. The members of this suborder are aquatic and semiaquatic, and feed on algae. Descrip ...

beetle Beetles are insects that form the order Coleoptera (), in the superorder Endopterygota. Their front pair of wings are hardened into wing-cases, elytra, distinguishing them from most other insects. The Coleoptera, with about 400,000 describ ...

in the

monotypic In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unispec ...

family Triamyxidae from the

Carnian The Carnian (less commonly, Karnian) is the lowermost stage of the Upper Triassic Series (or earliest age of the Late Triassic Epoch). It lasted from 237 to 227 million years ago (Ma). The Carnian is preceded by the Ladinian and is followed by t ...

stage of

Late Triassic The Late Triassic is the third and final epoch (geology), epoch of the Triassic geologic time scale, Period in the geologic time scale, spanning the time between annum, Ma and Ma (million years ago). It is preceded by the Middle Triassic Epoch ...

, approximately 230 million years ago. It was found in the

Keuper Claystone The Keuper is a lithostratigraphic unit (a sequence of rock strata) in the subsurface of large parts of west and central Europe. The Keuper consists of dolomite, shales or claystones and evaporites that were deposited during the Middle and Late T ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

. The type species is ''T. coprolithica'' and it was identified from specimens found in the

coprolite A coprolite (also known as a coprolith) is fossilized feces. Coprolites are classified as trace fossils as opposed to body fossils, as they give evidence for the animal's behaviour (in this case, diet) rather than morphology. The name is de ...

ZPAL AbIII/3520, likely belonging to the

dinosauriform Dinosauromorpha is a clade of avemetatarsalian archosaurs (reptiles closer to birds than to crocodilians) that includes the Dinosauria (dinosaurs) and some of their close relatives. It was originally defined to include dinosauriforms and lager ...

Silesaurus opolensis ''Silesaurus'' is a genus of silesaurid dinosauriform from the Late Triassic, of what is now Poland. Discovery Fossilized remains of ''Silesaurus'' have been found in the Keuper Claystone in Krasiejów near Opole, Silesia, Poland, which is al ...

''. Because ''Triamyxa'' specimens were found inside

coprolites A coprolite (also known as a coprolith) is fossilized feces. Coprolites are classified as trace fossils as opposed to body fossils, as they give evidence for the animal's behaviour (in this case, diet) rather than morphology. The name is de ...

, this may offer a new method of finding insect fossils aside from

amber Amber is fossilized tree resin that has been appreciated for its color and natural beauty since Neolithic times. Much valued from antiquity to the present as a gemstone, amber is made into a variety of decorative objects."Amber" (2004). In Ma ...

. It is currently the oldest known member of Myxophaga. It was interpreted as either the most basal member of Myxophaga, or a

sister group In phylogenetics, a sister group or sister taxon, also called an adelphotaxon, comprises the closest relative(s) of another given unit in an evolutionary tree. Definition The expression is most easily illustrated by a cladogram: Taxon A and t ...

Hydroscaphidae The Hydroscaphidae are a small family of water beetles known commonly as skiff beetles. As of 2010, there are 23 species in the family. Several are recently described. These beetles are small, most under in length. They are tan to brown in colo ...

. The specimens were preserved in 3D, with their legs and antennae intact and ''Triamyxa'' was likely consumed on by accident by ''Silesaurus'' while eating other animals, likely larger insects, and the specimens were likely not chewed much, which explains why one ''Triamyxa'' specimen was intact and the rest were fragmentary and ''Triamyxa'' was also probably present in the environment in large numbers, likely feeding on algal mats in freshwater bodies, similar to modern myxophagans.

References

{{Taxonbar, from= Q107429492, from2= Q107406890, from3= Q107429567 Fossil taxa described in 2021 Opole County Beetles Extinct insects Myxophaga genera Beetles described in 2021 Prehistoric beetle genera