Latest news with #MuseumofEastZealand
Yahoo
29-01-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
66 million-year-old fish vomit from time of the dinosaurs found in Denmark
Scientists have discovered what might be the 'world's most famous piece of puke ever' after a piece of fossilised vomit dating back to the age of the dinosaurs was discovered in Denmark. The find was made by local fossil hunter Peter Bennicke at Stevns Klint, a UNESCO-listed coastal cliff in the east of the country, south of Copenhagen. While out on a walk, Mr Bennicke, 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. When he took the fragments to be examined at the Museum of East Zealand, they confirmed the vomit could be dated to the end of the Cretaceous period, 66 million years ago. The fragments of vomit would have been emitted when dinosaurs such as Tyrannosaurus Rex and Triceratops were still roaming. Palaeontologist and curator at the Museum of East Zealand, Jesper Milàn, told the BBC the fossil was a 'truly an unusual find' as it forms a piece in the puzzle of understanding relationships in the prehistoric food chain. He told the broadcaster: 'It tells us something about who was eating who 66 million years ago.' The palaeontologist explained that sea lilies were not a particularly nutritious diet, as they mainly consisted of chalky skeletal plates, held together by a few soft parts. During the period, fish and sharks would eat them despite the fact they were hard to digest, meaning they would 'regurgitate all the chalk bits.' The discovery, also gives an insight into past ecosystems, as Mr Milàn continued: 'This find is a unique glimpse into the everyday situation in the bottom of the Cretaceous sea - the sea during which the dinosaurs lived.' The Museum of East Zealand only sent word of the discovery out to local press before it got picked up globally, making it 'the world's most famous piece of puke ever.'
USA Today
28-01-2025
- Science
- USA Today
66-million-year-old vomit found in Denmark: 'Most famous piece of puke in the world'
Vomit normally isn't celebrated, or something people ogle over, but exceptions can seemingly be made when it is 66 million years old. Peter Bennicke, a local fossil hunter, discovered the blob of vomit at the Cliffs of Stevns, a UNESCO-listed geological site on the Danish island of Zealand that's comprised of about 9 miles of fossil-rich coastal cliff, the Museum of East Zealand said in a news release. Danish officials said the fossil belonged to an animal, and the contents of the vomit contained sea lily remains. Dutch sea lily expert John Jagt concluded that the throw-up consisted of two different species of sea lilies mixed into a clump and that the creatures were eaten by another animal that had subsequently regurgitated the indigestible skeletal parts of their bodies, according to the release. "It is truly an unusual find. Sea lilies are not a particularly nutritious diet, as they mainly consist of calcareous plates held together by very few soft parts," Jesper Milàn, a Danish paleontologist and curator of Geology at Geomuseum Faxe, said in the release. What does the vomit's discovery mean? Milàn predicted that a fish ate the sea lilies that were living at the bottom of the Cretaceous Sea, which according to the Utah State University Prehistoric Museum, was a narrow and shallow sea that connected the modern Gulf of Mexico and the modern Arctic Ocean. The vomit's discovery provides important and new knowledge about the relationship between predators and prey, and the food chains in the Cretaceous Sea, Milàn said. According to UNESCO, the Cliffs of Stevns contain "exceptional evidence of the impact of the Chicxulub meteorite that crashed into the planet about 65 million years ago," which is commonly believed to have caused the extinction of dinosaurs. Sea lilies, also known as crinoids, have declined in diversity since their kind peaked about 300 million years ago, but over 650 living species are known, and they remain abundant in many marine habitats ranging from shallow coral reefs to the floors of oceanic trenches, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said. The vomit can be viewed at a Denmark museum The throw-up is also classified as "Danekræ," which is a designation for Danish objects of 'exceptional natural historical value.' This means the vomit belongs to Denmark and not its finder, Bennicke, so it must be turned over to a natural history museum. The vomit will be placed in a small special exhibition at the Geomuseum Faxe Museum in Faxe, Denmark during the winter holidays for people to view, according to the release. Milàn called the vomit "the most famous piece of puke in the world," the New York Times reported.
Yahoo
28-01-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
66-million-year-old vomit found in Denmark: 'Most famous piece of puke in the world'
Vomit normally isn't celebrated, or something people ogle over, but exceptions can seemingly be made when it is 66 million years old. Peter Bennicke, a local fossil hunter, discovered the blob of vomit at the Cliffs of Stevns, a UNESCO-listed geological site on the Danish island of Zealand that's comprised of about 9 miles of fossil-rich coastal cliff, the Museum of East Zealand said in a news release. Danish officials said the fossil belonged to an animal, and the contents of the vomit contained sea lily remains. Dutch sea lily expert John Jagt concluded that the throw-up consisted of two different species of sea lilies mixed into a clump and that the creatures were eaten by another animal that had subsequently regurgitated the indigestible skeletal parts of their bodies, according to the release. "It is truly an unusual find. Sea lilies are not a particularly nutritious diet, as they mainly consist of calcareous plates held together by very few soft parts," Jesper Milàn, a Danish paleontologist and curator of Geology at Geomuseum Faxe, said in the release. Milàn predicted that a fish ate the sea lilies that were living at the bottom of the Cretaceous Sea, which according to the Utah State University Prehistoric Museum, was a narrow and shallow sea that connected the modern Gulf of Mexico and the modern Arctic Ocean. The vomit's discovery provides important and new knowledge about the relationship between predators and prey, and the food chains in the Cretaceous Sea, Milàn said. According to UNESCO, the Cliffs of Stevns contain "exceptional evidence of the impact of the Chicxulub meteorite that crashed into the planet about 65 million years ago," which is commonly believed to have caused the extinction of dinosaurs. Sea lilies, also known as crinoids, have declined in diversity since their kind peaked about 300 million years ago, but over 650 living species are known, and they remain abundant in many marine habitats ranging from shallow coral reefs to the floors of oceanic trenches, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said. The throw-up is also classified as "Danekræ," which is a designation for Danish objects of 'exceptional natural historical value.' This means the vomit belongs to Denmark and not its finder, Bennicke, so it must be turned over to a natural history museum. The vomit will be placed in a small special exhibition at the Geomuseum Faxe Museum in Faxe, Denmark during the winter holidays for people to view, according to the release. Milàn called the vomit "the most famous piece of puke in the world," the New York Times reported. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 66-million-year-old fossilized animal vomit found in Demark
MTV Lebanon
28-01-2025
- Science
- MTV Lebanon
66 million-year-old fish vomit 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 Triceratops 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.
Yahoo
28-01-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
‘Truly unusual' fossil discovery shows us what fish ate 66 million years ago
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 an amateur fossil hunter on the Cliffs of Stevns, and offers 'exceptional evidence' of the meteorite impact around 65 million years ago that brought an end to the era of dinosaurs, according to Unesco. The fossil hunter, Peter Bennicke, stumbled upon an unusually hardened blob containing pieces of sea lily in a piece of chalk. He then brought his find to a museum where it was cleaned and examined by Dutch sea lily expert John Jagt. Researchers dated the fossil animal regurgitate to the end of the Cretaceous era nearly 66 million years ago. They concluded the fossil vomit contained two species of sea lilies that were likely eaten by a fish. '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 subsequently regurgitated the indigestible parts,' the Museum of East Zealand said in a statement. Museum curator Jesper Milàn called the fossil a 'truly unusual find'. 'Sea lilies aren't a particularly nutritious diet as they mainly consist of calcareous plates held together by very few soft parts,' Mr Milàn explained. 'But here's an animal, probably a type of fish, that 66 million years ago ate sea lilies that lived on the bottom of the Cretaceous sea and regurgitated the skeletal parts back up.' Researchers said further examination of the fossil could provide insights into the relationship between predators and prey in the Cretaceous-era sea. The fossil is expected to go on display in a small exhibit at Denmark's Geomuseum Faxe in February. Such fossils were key to reconstructing ancient ecosystems and could provide important knowledge about food chains, scientists said. A study of fossilised faeces and vomit found in Poland last year revealed how early dinosaurs in the Triassic era, 252 to 201 million years ago, competed for food. By examining the fossils for undigested plants and prey matter, scientists could reconstruct the feeding patterns of several species and the ecology of the time. They were surprised to find burnt plant remains in some of the fossil faeces of giant herbivorous dinosaurs, raising questions about whether these animals deliberately ate charcoal to neutralise toxins in their food.
