66 million-year-old fossilised vomit discovered in Denmark
A piece of fossilized vomit dating back to the time of the dinosaurs has been discovered in Denmark.Local fossil hunter Peter Bennicke found the fossil at Stevns Klint - a Unesco-listed coastal cliff in the east of the country.The self-declared "fossil geek" said he came across some unusual-looking fragments which turned out to be pieces of sea lily - an underwater species related to starfish and sea urchins - in a piece of chalk.Mr Bennicke took the fragments to be examined at the Museum of East Zealand, which confirmed the vomit could be dated to the end of the Cretaceous period 66 million years ago - a time when dinosaurs including Tyrannosaurus and Diplodocus existed.
Jesper Milan, palaeontologist and curator at the museum, told the BBC it was "truly an unusual find" as it helps explain relationships in the prehistoric food chain."It tells us something about who was eating who 66 million years ago," he said.During the period fish and sharks would eat sea lilies, which are hard to digest meaning they would then "regurgitate all the chalk bits", he explained. "This find is a unique glimpse into the everyday situation in the bottom of the Cretaceous sea - the sea during which the dinosaurs lived," he said. The discovery is also significant for improving our understanding of past ecosystems. Mr Milan said his museum had only sent the information to the local press but the discovery has sparked global interest. "This is the world's most famous piece of puke ever," he said.
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