Fossil fish inside a clam shell. Picture: Kronosaurus Korner
SOMETHING fishy has turned up at an outback farm in the middle of Australia.
The discovery of a 100 million-year-old fossilised fish called the Cooyoo is being celebrated in paleontological circles as the catch of the year.
The Cooyoo was an ancient Australian giant, measuring up to three metres in length, with a head like a bulldog and the manners of one too — often swallowing its prey whole.
Curator of marine fossil museum Kronosaurus Korner Tim Holland led the expedition after Duncan and Judy Fysh of Proa Redclaw Farm in Queensland came into the museum a month ago.
“They found the bones of an Ichthyosaur in their back paddock. After I examined it, I started flipping over mudstone,” he said.
“Suddenly I was looking straight into the Cooyoo’s eye.”
Fossils of the Cooyoo have been discovered before but they have never held the level of detail these new bones hold.
“Previous reconstructions showed bristle-like teeth, suggesting it was a large fish but not a top predator. The conical teeth that we see in this new specimen tell us a little bit more about where they sat on the food chain.”
RMIT student Paul Ter joined Dr. Holland on the expedition and was shocked to discover whole skeletons of smaller fish hiding in a fossilised clam.
“These smaller fish were like the equivalent of popcorn – bite-sized prey for larger predators,” Dr Holland explained.
Both the Cooyoo and his bite-sized friends go on display today at the Kronosaurus Korner in Richmond, Queensland.
Originally published as Catch of the year: Fossilised fish on Aussie farm
