Dino-Era Vomit Fossil Found in England
National Geographic News
February 12, 2002
British scientists have discovered the world’s oldest fossilized vomit, believed to have come from a large marine reptile 160 million years ago.
The vomit contains the remains of dozens of belemnites—squid-like shellfish that lived in abundance in the seas around what is now Britain. The belemnites were eaten in great numbers by ichthyosaurs, large marine reptiles (related to land-dwelling dinosaurs) common in the warm seas of the Jurassic era, similar in size and shape to dolphins but with pointed snouts full of sharp teeth.
The vomit fossil shows the remains of dozens of squid-like shellfish that were eaten in great numbers by ichthyosaurs, large marine reptiles (related to land-dwelling dinosaurs) common in the warm seas of the Jurassic era.
The technicolor yawn was discovered in a clay quarry in Peterborough by the University of Greenwich’s Peter Doyle and Jason Wood of the Open University.
Having eaten dozens of belemnites, an ichthyosaur would regurgitate their indigestible bullet-shaped shells in much the same way that an owl does after eating a mouse whole, the scientists announced Tuesday. It is these shells that have been discovered in the fossil vomit.
“We believe that this is the first time the existence of fossil vomit on a grand scale has been proven beyond reasonable doubt,” said geologist Professor Doyle. “The Peterborough belemnite shells, viewed under a powerful scanning electron microscope, have revealed ‘acid etching’ marks caused by digestive fluids from the gut of a marine reptile, proving that the belemnites had been eaten by a predator. The fact that most of these belemnites were juveniles reinforces our view that they did not die of old age.”
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[This message has been edited by Munni (edited February 23, 2002).]