Gold Bug Fossil Shows Arthropod Legs in 3D, a First for Science

Scientists have never seen anything like the little golden fossil found in Wisconsin

A new study could reveal how arthropods first evolved.

The fossil is less than a centimeter long and shaped like a bean. With the help of an X-ray microscope, researchers were able to see inside the fossil, and they found something amazing: the preserved legs of an arthropod.

This is the first time that scientists have ever seen the legs of an arthropod in 3D. According to the study, published in the journal Geology, the legs are jointed and have claws. This suggests that the arthropod was able to walk and climb.

The fossil is of a trilobite, an extinct group of arthropods that lived in the oceans from 541 to 252 million years ago. Trilobites were the first known arthropods to have legs. The new fossil provides new insights into the evolution of arthropods.

The scientists say that the fossil is a reminder of the incredible diversity of life that existed on Earth in the past.

"I think this fossil is a very important discovery," said study co-author Derek Briggs, a paleontologist at Yale University. "It shows that arthropods were much more diverse than we ever imagined."