Researchers uncovered 160-million-year-old fossilized remains of plesiosaur vomit near the Norwegian coast .. The discovery was made during drilling for an offshore carbon dioxide storage site near the Troll gas field .
The 31-mile offshore discovery near Norway's Troll gas field
The discovery occurred during drilling operations for an offshore carbon dioixde storage site near Norway's Troll gas field. Dr. Dirk Knaust, a palaeontology expert for Equinor ASA, examined 20 distinct pieces of the fossilized material, which varied in size from a small walnut to a large mango.
These fossilized remains, known as regurgitalites, date back to the Jurassic or Early Cretaceous period. As reported by the source, these ancient piles of sick provide a rare, direct look at the feeding habits of plesiosaurs, which were among the most successful marine predators in historry.
How cryptoclidid plesiosaurs processed shellfish and sea lilies
The fossilized pellets offer a unique window into the diet of the cryptoclidid plesiosaur. these marine reptiles likely used their long necks to graze the seafloor for food, including molluscs, sea lilies, and shallowly buried worm tubes.
According to the report, these animals processed their food in a manner similar to modern owls. They would swallow their prey and digest only the soft tissues, eventually orally rejecting the hard, compressed shells and remains in concentrated clumps. This biological process allowed the material to become compact enough to survive the elements and eventually fossilize.
A river delta mystery solved by stomach transport
The presence of saltwater shellfish in a river delta presents a significant ecological puzzle. While the shellfish found in the vomit required stable salt levels to survive, the area where the fossils were located was once a river delta characterized by constant freshwater flow.
Dr. Dirk Knaust suggests that the plesiosaurs acted as biological transport vessels to resolve this discrepancy. He proposes that the animals likely hunted in deeper, more stable marine environments and then traveled to shallower coastal areas to relax or sleep, at which point they would vomit the indigestible remains .
The mystery of the two-legged dinosaur footprints
The presence of two-legged dinosaur footprints imprinted in some of the vomit chunks adds a layer of complexity to the plesiosaur's habitat. While the fossils suggest these animals likely stayed submerged in the shallows due to their weight and body shape, the proximity to land-based predators is evident.
However, several specific details regarding this interaction remain unverified. The source does not identify the specific species of the two-legged dinosaur that left the prints, nor does it clarify if the plesiosaurs were actively interacting with the shoreline or if the vomit was simply deposited in a zone where land and sea met. It remains an open question whether the plesiosaurs were venturing onto beaches or simply grazing near the edge of a terrestrial environment.
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