Flesh-Eating Insect Gnawed on Dino Bones

"As with undertakers today, the dermestids will always have a job, and that job has remained relatively unchanged for at least 150 million years," Britt said. "A carcass is a carcass and the tissues, including bone, muscle and ligament, have not changed much through time."

Under the microscope, the researchers even detected signs of dermestid feces -- called frass -- within the bones. The frass, together with the bites, constitute the oldest known evidence for dermestid beetles, predating the prior earliest evidence by 48 million years.

The scientists further determined that the climate at the time of the Camptosaurus' death must have had 60 to 80 percent humidity and a temperature of 77 to 86 F, because those match the beetle's typical habitat. The area today has an average yearly temperature of 43.5 F.

"Dr. Britt's work is really exciting and delves into unique aspects of paleobiology that few scientists have yet explored," said Eric Roberts, a dinosaur decomposition expert at South Africa's University of the Witwatersrand.

"Insects are among the most diverse and abundant organisms on the planet, yet we know next to nothing about the fossil record of insects because of their extremely limited preservation potential," Roberts added.

Britt and his team continue to study bug bites on dinosaur bones and have found that beetles did most of the damage during the Cretaceous, while termites dominated the dino-feasting during the Jurassic.

Related Links:

Discovery News blog: Born Animal

Natural History Museum: Camptosaurus

Brigham Young University Earth Science Museum

Dermestid Beetle

How Stuff Works: Dinosaurs