Agatized dinosaur bone cells, unpolished, ca. 150 million years old (42X) (Douglas Moore)
Prehistoric Colors Preserved in Near-Perfect Beetle Fossils
Despite being tens of millions of years old, some beetle fossils appear almost as they did in life. Not only are their shape and structure preserved, but so are the actual colors of their shells, which have changed only slightly in the intervening eons.
Though relatively little-known, these fossils represent the purest of biological colors retrieved from deep time, far richer than much-celebrated pigment traces of dinosaur plumage and more varied than the hues of a few ancient plants.
The fossils in the photographs are approximately 40-47 million years old. [Read More]
mantis shrimp
from wikipedia:
Called “sea locusts” by ancient Assyrians, “prawn killers” in Australia and now sometimes referred to as “thumb splitters” — because of the animal’s ability to inflict painful gashes if handled incautiously — mantis shrimp sport powerful claws that they use to attack and kill prey by spearing, stunning or dismemberment. Although it happens rarely, some larger species of mantis shrimp are capable of breaking through aquarium glass with a single strike from this weapon.
