In my new YouTube #video, I tell the #hypothetical story of a #Histiostomatidae #mite that lived its #lifehistory in the #dung heap of the #dinosaur #Edmontosaurus #annectens during the Late #Cretaceous. It developed #fungivorously within the dung and, when conditions deteriorated, was #transported by #flies to a new habitat (phoresis). All images and footage created with #AI assistance, except photos of free-living mites.
© #StefanFWirth 2025

Video
https://youtu.be/gzv-TZmU5G4?si=zrTLfrC96k3KEGqr

Pics
© S.F. Wirth

#Edmontosaurus #annectens was a #duckbilled #dinosaur (#Hadrosauridae) and ate mostly #coniferous #diet. Hadrosaurids preferred #quadruped walks. P. C. Sereno et al. (2025) found that "#mummy" #fossils of the #species formed due to the carcass being covered by a soft #sedimentlayer impressed with tissue details before decomposition. Found details: a fleshy head- and trunk-ridge, a hip/tail spikerow and #hoof-like feet.
©#StefanFWirth 2025

Ref
https://doi.org/10.1126/science.adw3536

Pics
©S.F.Wirth,AI assisted