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Scientists find Jurassic Age dinosaur vomit
Netscape News ^
| Feb. 11, 2002
Posted on 02/11/2002 8:13:19 AM PST by Junior
LONDON (Reuters) - British scientists said Monday they had discovered what they believed to be the world's oldest fossilized vomit from a large marine reptile that lived 160 million years ago.
Professor Peter Doyle of the University of Greenwich in London said the vomit found in a clay quarry in northern England shed new light on the diet and eating habits of the ichthyosaur -- a Jurassic Age fish-like reptile with a long head, tapered body and four flippers.
"We believe that this is the first time the existence of fossil vomit on a grand scale has been proven beyond reasonable doubt," Doyle said.
Other examples of fossilized vomit have been discovered, but Doyle and Dr Jason Wood of Britain's Open University said their sample was the oldest.
"These are the oldest, definitely," Doyle said, adding that there was scientific evidence to back it up.
Doyle and Wood presented their findings at a paleontology conference and plan to submit them for publication in a peer-review journal.
The vomit contains the shells of dozens of belemnites, tiny shellfish that were found in abundance in the water around Britain. They were a staple food for extinct marine reptiles.
The scientists are convinced the sample is vomit because of the way the belemnite shells were scattered in the fossilized sample. A microscopic examination also showed the shells had been etched by stomach acid from the digestive fluid of the marine creatures.
Skeletons of ichthyosaurs with stomach contents intact have previously been found, but the belemnite shells were quite unpalatable and usually expelled from the body.
Doyle said it was unlikely the shells passed through the ichthyosaur's intestines because they would have damaged the soft tissue.
"The only alternative is that the shells were vomited out, in much the same way that modern-day sperm whales regurgitate the indigestible beaks of squid they have eaten," he said.
TOPICS: Miscellaneous; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: crevolist
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To: Junior
How in the world does vomit Fossilize?
To: Junior
sounds like bad seafood by the contents - - a bad oyster or shrimp will make me "punt the muffin" as well!
22
posted on
02/11/2002 8:44:51 AM PST
by
duckbutt
To: js1138
The poor beast hurled chunky sea food barf, when he spied the dreaded Hillarysaurus and other liberal dinosaurs.
To: js1138
The poor beast hurled chunky sea food barf, when he spied the dreaded Hillarysaurus and other liberal dinosaurs.
To: Jimmyclyde
The same way skat does -- it's just in the right place at the right time...
25
posted on
02/11/2002 8:52:16 AM PST
by
Junior
To: Junior; longshadow; vaderetro; radioastronomer
Dino vomit! This is my kind of thread! I'm gonna bump this thing all day.
To: PatrickHenry
Dino vomit! This is my kind of thread! I'm gonna bump this thing all day. Hey, I think this deserves a VOMIT ALERT! (but not for the usual reasons ;-)
To: PatrickHenry
This is my kind of thread! I'm gonna bump this thing all day.Why do I feel like a blowfly?
28
posted on
02/11/2002 10:24:05 AM PST
by
AndrewC
To: PatrickHenry
But shouldn't the Great Flood have diluted all the vomit?
To: PatrickHenry
Then again, it was an Ichthyosaur. All we have preserved are the acid-etched chunks.
To: VadeRetro
Then again, it was an Ichthyosaur. [emphasis added]
On a side note, isn't that the critter that is often offered up as a candidate for "Nessie," the alledged Loch Ness Monster?
To: Junior
Scientists sure lead glamorous lives. Think they'll find a sabertooth tiger's furball sometime soon? They can dream, can't they?
To: Junior
Wow! That stuff's hard to find. Just last week I was looking for some to use in a spell I wanted to cast. I substituted dog barf and, as would be expected, the spell did not work.
33
posted on
02/11/2002 10:51:41 AM PST
by
Octar
To: Junior
The vomit contains the shells of dozens of belemnites, tiny shellfish that were found in abundance in the water around Britain. They were a staple food for extinct marine reptiles.
Nearby, scientists found empty pint bottles of Pabst Colt 45 Malt Liquor.
34
posted on
02/11/2002 10:53:24 AM PST
by
BikerNYC
To: Junior
Other examples of fossilized vomit have been discovered, but Doyle and Dr Jason Wood of Britain's Open University said their sample was the oldest. Wy am I getting this mental image of a bunch of old men in labcoats holding out a chunky rock, shaking their butts and singing "My puke's older than your puke!!!"
35
posted on
02/11/2002 10:54:10 AM PST
by
commish
To: longshadow
Oh God! And it's from a clay quarry in Northern England! How long before the Nessie Nuts start citing this find? "They found some fossilized Nessie puke withing 150 miles of Loch Ness!"
To: Junior
Isn't that special ???
To: BikerNYC
Nearby, scientists found empty pint bottles of Pabst Colt 45 Malt Liquor. Not to nit-pick, but.....
"Colt 45" wasn't a Pabst product (unless they bought out the previous brewer). Pabst DID make a competing product called "Big Cat," which was obscure and very hard to find. In fact the ONLY place I EVER saw any was in my next door neighbor's refrigerator.
To: VadeRetro
Oh God! And it's from a clay quarry in Northern England! Honest Injun; I didn't even make the connection. I just remembered the name of the barfing beast as also having been touted as a candidate for "Nessie."
Hope I didn't give them any ideas....
To: longshadow
"On February 8, 1999 CNNfn reported that after 149 years of brewing beer, Stroh's was selling out. Stroh's sold some of its unimportant brands to Miller Brewing. But the crown jewel, Colt .45 Malt Liquor, was sold to Pabst, who obviously had the sheer financial muscle from its skyrocketing sales of Pabst Blue Ribbon."
40
posted on
02/11/2002 12:47:36 PM PST
by
BikerNYC
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