Technology
Mind-blowing fossil reveals ‘crustacean eaten by squid eaten by shark’ 180MILLION years ago
A FOSSIL of a ‘a squid eaten by a shark while it tried to eat a crustacean’ has been revealed by stunned researchers.
Around 180million years ago, an ancient squid-like creature was devouring a lobster-like crustacean when a shark or similar sharp toothed animal decided to tear a chunk out of the squid.
This fossil shows a squid creature that was attacked while it was eating a crustacean[/caption]
This is according to archaeologists who have been studying the fossil to try and work out what was happening at the time.
The creepy fossilised scene was discovered in a German quarry.
It shows an extinct squid-like creature called a belemnite feasting on some sort of ancient lobster-like creature.
Before the belemnite got to finish its meal, the fossil shows evidence that a shark-like creature came along and had a bite of the squid.
This is an artist’s impression of what happened 180million years ago[/caption]
The researchers think it was likely an ancient shark because it didn’t stick around to eat the whole thing.
It’s thought some ancient predators could digest belemnite beaks but sharks could not and may have tried to avoid such behaviour.
Another fossil found in Germany from a similar time period shows a shark that likely died from having too many belemnite beaks blocking its stomach.
Researchers think sharks and crocodiles in the Jurassic period may have learnt to only eat the soft parts of a squid.
A separate ancient shark fossil, also found in Germany, revealed a shark that had died from eating too many squid beaks[/caption]
A study about the unusual squid fossil has been published in the Swiss Journal of Palaeontology.
The authors wrote: “Remarkably, most of the belemnite soft parts between the arm crown and the calcitic rostrum are missing.
“We suggest that this represents remains of a meal of a vertebrate predator, possibly of the Early Jurassic shark Hybodus hauffianus.
“This is remarkable, because it informs about the behavior of a cephalopod and a vertebrate predator.”
The discovery has been labelled as a ‘leftover fall’ because whatever was eating the squid creature dropped it to the bottom of the seabed where it became buried and fossilised.
Giant squid facts
Here’s what you need to know…
- The maximum recorded length of a giant squid is around 13 metres
- There have been reports of larger squid sightings but they have never been scinetifically verified
- Their tentacles can regenerate
- Squid have three hearts
- There is a small amount of evidence to suggest they might be cannibals
- A giant squid had never been caught on camera until 2006
- They can have eyes the size of beach balls
- Squid have sharp parrot-like beaks
- There is evidence to suggest they only live for around five years, which would mean they must grow extremely quickly
Most read in Science
In other archaeology news, the grave of a three-year-old child who was buried around 78,000 year ago has been labelled as Africa’s ‘oldest human burial’.
Scuba divers found a huge 50 pound mammoth bone in a Florida river.
And, an unearthed stone slab dating back to the Bronze Age may represent Europe’s oldest map.
What do you make of the ancient shark fossil? Let us know in the comments…
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