An amateur fossil hunter discovered on the cliffs of Stevns, Denmark, traces of fish vomit that dates back to the Cretaceous era, 66 million years ago.
Vomit fossilized which dates from the Cretaceous
It is an unusual discovery made by an amateur fossil hunter in Denmark. On the cliffs of Stevns, south of the Copenhagen capital, the latter got hold of a piece of fossilized vomit, according to The Guardianwhich would belong to that of a fish.
The fossil hunter, Peter Bennicke by his name, brought in a museum the fragments he has collected on these cliffs, which are a site listed as World Heritage by UNESCO, to have them examined. After analyzes, they would date from the Cretaceous era, 66 million years old.
A vomit that contains water lilies
Experts have said that the remains of this vomit consisted of two different types of water lilies. The advanced hypothesis remains that these are pieces that the fish have struggled to ingest or digest, thus forcing them to spit them by vomiting.
Jesper Milan, a Danish paleontologist, told The Guardian that “Probably a kind of fish, which, 66 million years ago, ate water lilies who lived at the bottom of the Cretaceous sea and regurgus the skeletal parts”, Before adding that this discovery was “Really unusual”.
What were fish in the era of Cretaceous?
During the Cretaceous era, which took place around 146 to 66 million years ago, the food of the fish was diversified. Indeed, there are on the one hand carnivorous fish, which fed on other fish or crustaceans for example.
There were also herbivorous fish, like the one who vomited water residues. They fed on all the aquatic plants they existed during this period. Finally, there was a last part which eaves itself with plankton, animal or vegetable.
Source: The Guardian
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