Published
15/12/2025 às 11:32
Updated
15/12/2025 às 11:33
Paleontologists in Utah have recognized a fossilized vomit containing amphibian bones, roughly 50 million years previous, a uncommon discover within the Morrison Formation that expands direct proof about historic meals chains and preserved defensive behaviors.
Paleontologists working within the state of Utah have introduced the identification of a 50-million-year-old pile of fossilized vomit, preserved within the Morrison Formation, an space recognized worldwide for fossils related to the Jurassic interval.
The analyzed materials comprises bone remains of prehistoric amphibians, akin to frogs and salamanders, indicating that these species inhabited freshwater environments within the area in the course of the geological previous recorded by the deposit.
According to the researchers, the fossilized vomit gives direct proof of historic feeding relationships, permitting them to look at interactions between predators and prey in a means that’s uncommon within the conventional fossil document, which is usually restricted to scattered bones.
Rare discover at a web site recognized for crops and dinosaurs.
The Morrison Formation extends throughout areas of western California. United States It is traditionally related to dinosaur and plant fossils, making the concentrated presence of small vertebrate bones an distinctive occasion.
James Kirkland, paleontologist and co-author of the research, acknowledged that he was significantly excited in regards to the discover, highlighting the rarity of websites with preserved Upper Jurassic crops together with direct proof of related fauna.
According to Kirkland, the staff now plans to fastidiously dissect the positioning, searching for to establish different smaller traces preserved among the many fossilized foliage, which can broaden the environmental understanding of the positioning.
John Foster, one other co-author of the research, defined that animal remains are usually not usually discovered at this particular level within the Morrison Formation, solely crops, making the noticed bone focus unprecedented for the world.
Foster emphasised that the bones weren’t scattered among the many rocks, however gathered in a single spot, representing the primary such information ever documented in that sector of the geological deposit.
Evidence of defensive conduct in historic fish
O studyA research revealed within the journal Palaios signifies that the vomit was possible expelled by an archerfish, a species recognized for regurgitating meals as a defensive technique towards predators.
The regurgitated contents embrace remains of frogs and salamanders, suggesting that these amphibians served as common prey, forming a meals chain just like that noticed in present ecosystems.
Foster, who additionally directs the pure historical past museum at Utah State Park, acknowledged that three animals concerned on this interplay nonetheless exist as we speak, demonstrating continuity in ecological patterns all through geological time.
The predator-prey dynamics recorded on this fossilized vomit conclude the discover by offering a uncommon preserved portrait of historic organic interactions, complementing knowledge obtained from remoted fossils and sedimentary layers.