Fossil of vomited-up amphibians offers ‘rare glimpse’ into ancient life, Utah park says
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Paleontologists found the fossil of multiple amphibians that were likely vomited by a fish, perhaps as it was fleeing a predator 150 million years ago, Utah officials said.
The fossil was found by paleontologists from the Utah Division State Parks, the Utah Geological Survey and the Flying Heritage & Combat Armor Museum in rocks of the Morrison Formation in southern Utah, according to a Sept. 13 news release from Utah State Parks.
“This fossil gives us a rare glimpse into the interactions of the animals in ancient ecosystems,” John Foster, curator for Utah Field House of Natural History State Park Museum, said. “There were three animals that we still have around today, interacting in ways also known today among those animals — prey eaten by predators and predators perhaps chased by other predators.”
This, he said, “shows how similar some ancient ecosystems were” to those of today.
Paleontologists think it is likely that the fossil was from a startled bowfin fish that vomited “a recent meal of tadpoles and a salamander” while escaping a predator, Utah State Parks said.
While “fish, frogs and salamanders have been found in the Morrison Formation since the late 1800s,” what makes this find so unique is that it “documents a predator’s meal” and its need to vomit that meal, according to Utah State Parks.
“That is a first in the Jurassic rocks of North America,” Utah State Parks said.