JURASSIC 'BELEMNITE GRAVEYARD' - 170 million years old - Whitby, Yorkshire
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170 million years old
Upper Lias, Whitby, Yorkshire
Belemnites are extinct squid-like sea creatures that were very common during the age of the dinosaurs. The unique torpedo-shaped internal shell, called a ‘guard’, is all that remains of them.
Recent research has indicated that these piles of belemnites may have been regurgitated by large marine reptiles known as ichthyosaurs and are therefore ‘the world’s oldest fossilised vomit’. When they had eaten their fill they vomited the indigestible guards just as modern sperm whales regurgitate the beaks of squid.
This specimen was found in two parts which have been reassembled (as seen in the photo).
170 million years old
Upper Lias, Whitby, Yorkshire
Belemnites are extinct squid-like sea creatures that were very common during the age of the dinosaurs. The unique torpedo-shaped internal shell, called a ‘guard’, is all that remains of them.
Recent research has indicated that these piles of belemnites may have been regurgitated by large marine reptiles known as ichthyosaurs and are therefore ‘the world’s oldest fossilised vomit’. When they had eaten their fill they vomited the indigestible guards just as modern sperm whales regurgitate the beaks of squid.
This specimen was found in two parts which have been reassembled (as seen in the photo).
Click on a picture for a larger image
Size: 16 x 14 x 3 centimetres
Weight: 1.094 kilograms
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