This 294-Million-Year-Old Fossil Preserved Something Scientists Almost Never Find

It’s a big year for the do-it-all butthole known as the cloaca: the all-purpose pee, poop, and reproductive chute found in birds, reptiles, amphibians, and even a few mammals. Earlier this year, researchers identified what appears to be the first fossilized imprint of a reptilian cloaca. Now, according to a new study published in iScience…