The Stevns Klint ( Cliffs of Stevns ) in Denmark are perhaps best known for providing evidence of the dinosaur - endingChicxulub impact , but now , this geological site has throw up a much double-dyed find – a 66 - million - class - old fossilise big money of animal emetic .
The regurgitated blob was discovered by Peter Bennicke , a local inexpert fogy hunter . Upon separate a piece of chalk that he ’d pick up during a base on balls by the cliffs , Bennicke found that it contained some unusual - look fragments .
With Bennicke having taken the find to the Geomuseum Faxe , the deep specimen was clean house up and examined by paleontologist John Jagt . An expert in ocean lilies – which are marine invertebrates , not plants as the name might suggest – Jagt found that at least two dissimilar metal money of these creatures were present .
The paleaontologist concluded that the ocean lilies had been eaten and then part spew up by some form of animal . Over the course of the next 66 million year , the seafood chunder had fossilize , becoming a regurgitalite ; this is one eccentric of a wider grouping of trace fossils jazz asbromalites , which originate from the digestive systems of organisms .
“ It is truly an unusual uncovering , ” said Geomuseum Faxe Museum conservator Jesper Milan in astatement . “ ocean lilies are not a particularly nutritious diet , as they chiefly consist of calcareous plates take hold together by very few flaccid role . ”
“ But here is an creature , believably a type of fish , that 66 million years ago ate sea lily that live on on the bottom of the Cretaceous Sea and regurgitated the skeletal part back up , ” stay on Milan . “ Such a find allow for important newfangled noesis about the relationship between predators and prey and the food chains in the Cretaceous Sea . ”
Given its unequalled nature , the ancient barf was also determined by a commission to be “ Danekræ ” . This term refers to natural object get in Denmark that are of scientific or exhibition economic value , though the name itself “ is in Old Danish and means ‘ Danish creature ’ , ” as Milan told IFLScience in an email .
Under Danish law of nature , Danekræ have to be handed over to a recognise born history museum – not that many other people would desire to retain on to a clump of pallid anyway , even if it is fossilized . It works out for both party though , as the finder gets compensation , and a worthful chunk of natural history gets conserve for age to come .
The other good newsworthiness is that the specimen is soon going on display at Geomuseum Faxe , if your estimate of a pleasant mean solar day out is beat a closer look at whatfish vomitwas like in theCretaceousperiod .
