Recently, two crinoids were discovered to be fossilized remains of a prehistoric predator's vomit, found by an amateur fossil hunter in Denmark. Experts identified these remains as fossilized vomit, known formally as regurgitalite, due to their tight clumping. The fossil dates back 66 million years to the Cretaceous period, allowing paleontologists to learn about the diets of deep-sea creatures and the ecological dynamics before the mass extinction that eliminated the dinosaurs.
It was only when experts got their hands on it that they found out that it was vomit," Peter Bennicke, the 79-year-old fossil hunter who found the prehistoric puke, said in an email Tuesday. "My reaction was surprise.
Somebody living on the seafloor preyed on the crinoids, ate whatever it could from them, then expelled the pieces," Jesper Milan, a paleontologist at Denmark's East Zealand Museum, said in an interview on Tuesday.
The regurgitalite, the scientific name for fossilized vomit, was probably buried under chalk soon after being spewed out, preventing it from being torn apart by other animals on the seafloor.
The chalk surrounding the fossil allowed scientists to date it to 66 million years ago, the end of the Cretaceous period that would conclude soon after as a result of the mass extinction event that wiped out the dinosaurs.
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