An extremely rare dinosaur-era animal vomit fossil has been discovered in Denmark, the Museum of East Zealand announced on Monday. The find was made by amateur fossil hunter Peter Bennicke on the Cliffs of Stevns and offers exceptional evidence of the meteorite impact around 65 million years ago, which marked the end of the era of dinosaurs, according to UNESCO.
Bennicke stumbled upon the fossil, which appears as an unusually hardened blob, containing pieces of sea lily embedded within chalk. After his intriguing discovery, he brought the find to the local museum, where it underwent cleaning and examination by Dutch sea lily expert John Jagt.
Researchers dated the fossil to the end of the Cretaceous era, nearly 66 million years ago, and concluded it consisted of remains from at least two species of sea lilies, likely eaten by fish. The Museum of East Zealand, detailing this unusual find, noted, "The collection consisted of at least two different species of sea lilies mixed in a round clump and must be the remains of sea lilies eaten by an animal which had then regurgitated the indigestible parts."
Contextually, sea lilies are not nutrient-rich, with curator Jesper Milàn explaining their diet: "Sea lilies aren’t particularly nutritious as they mainly consist of calcareous plates held together by very few soft parts. But here’s an animal, probably a type of fish, consuming sea lilies from the Cretaceous sea and regurgitating the skeletal parts back up."
This remarkable fossil is anticipated to provide scientists with insights concerning predator-prey dynamics during the Cretaceous period. Milàn elaborated on the find’s significance, saying, "This discovery provides important new knowledge about the relationship between predators and prey and the food chains of the Cretaceous seas."
Announced on Monday, the find is slated to be on display at Geomuseum Faxe starting February, allowing the public to view this fascinating glimpse of ancient life. Experts maintain such fossils are pivotal for reconstructing ecosystems of the past, offering pathways to understand ancient food webs and the interactions within marine environments.
This discovery echoes the recent study of fossilized faeces and vomit found elsewhere, which highlighted how early dinosaurs competed for food millions of years ago. By analyzing undigested remains, scientists could reconstruct feeding patterns and gain insights about ecological relationships. Surprising results, such as the presence of burned plant remains among dinosaur faeces, raised questions about dietary habits well before the fall of the dinosaurs.
Indeed, each piece of evidence like the fossilized vomit found by Bennicke contributes to our broader comprehension of life's history on Earth, illustrating the diverse interactions of organisms and the evolutionary processes shaping the ecosystem. Such remarkable discoveries not only shed light on prehistoric life but also intrigue scientists and the public alike, drawing interest to our planet's complex biological narrative.