A stunning 450-million-year-old fossil arthropod, perfectly preserved in fool’s gold or iron pyrite, has been unearthed.

That was the case for Luke Parry, a paleobiology professor at Oxford University, who announced this week that he had ...

Named Lomankus edgecombei, the arthropod is a remarkably bright golden color because it’s preserved in three dimensions by iron pyrite — a mineral better known as fool’s gold. The fossil ...

The fossils are also fascinating for their preservation in fool’s gold (also known as the mineral pyrite) that forms through ...

A new 450-million-year-old fossil arthropod, preserved in 3D by iron pyrite (fool’s gold), has been unveiled by scientists. The new species, Lomankus edgecombei, is distantly related to spiders ...

And the gold color isn’t just for show. The pyrite, located in a fossil-rich area near Rome, New York, known as “Beecher’s Bed,” helped to preserve the fossils by gradually taking the place of ...

They are now also part of the Peabody collection. Because pyrite is so dense, Parry was able to scan the fossil using computed tomography to reveal hidden details of its anatomy. The discovery ...

And the gold color isn't just for show. The pyrite, located in a fossil-rich area near Rome, New York, known as "Beecher's Bed," helped to preserve the fossils by gradually taking the place of ...