Erosion caused by heavy rains discovered a THE TIP Scientists identified the thickest belemnite ever discovered. The rare fossils revealed a new species from the Jurassic in Wyoming. The discovery shows that the belemnites family survived longer than previously believed. Scientists have identified the “thickest” belemnite ever discovered in the fossil record: an ancient squid-like creature that lived in the seas covering present-day Wyoming about 160 million years ago. Two exceptionally rare fossils from the Jurassic Period led researchers to identify a new species, Wyoteuthis linsterorum, according to a study published in the journal Papers in Paleontology. The fossils were discovered at the top of Wyoming’s Sundance Formation, which formed in the ancient Sundance Sea. Today’s Wyoming is one of the largest fossil hunting grounds in the world. About 160 million years ago, the region was submerged beneath the shallow Sundance Sea, leaving behind fossil-rich rocks that preserve everything from squid-like belemnites to marine reptiles. (Don and Melinda Crawford/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images/Getty Images) Their unusually thick, barrel-shaped internal skeletons measured about 60 millimeters across, making them the “fattest” belemnite ever identified, ScienceDaily reported. Belemnites are extinct marine animals related to modern squids and octopuses. They are best known for their distinctive bullet-shaped internal skeletons, which are often the only animal parts preserved in the fossil record. SCIENTISTS DISCOVER NEW PENGUIN SPECIES THROUGH INNOVATIVE GENETIC ANALYSIS The innovative fossilized rostrum discovered measured approximately 4 inches long but measured up to 2.4 inches wide, giving it a noticeably barrel-shaped appearance that stood out to researchers. Based on comparisons with other belemnites, the researchers estimated that the animal itself could have reached almost 2 feet in length. Andrew Rossi, a paleotechnician, works on a fossil at the Wyoming Dinosaur Center in Thermopolis, Wyoming. (Steve Johnson for The Washington Post via Getty Images/Getty Images) Its unusually thick, barrel-shaped rostrum earned the prehistoric animal the nickname “stocky,” although researchers caution that the fossil’s unusual proportions make its overall body size difficult to determine. Although belemnite fossils are relatively common, W. linsterorum is notable because it belonged to a rare family that had mostly disappeared millions of years earlier. SCIENTISTS DISCOVER 57 NEW MARINE SPECIES LURKING IN THE DEPTHS OF THE SOUTH ATLANTIC Their discovery provides evidence that the group survived in a previously unknown refuge in the northeastern Pacific. The fossil was not the animal’s entire body, but rather its internal “guard,” the fossilized rear end of the tough, squid-like creature. Aerial view of parallel streams on the back slope of a slope in southern Wyoming. (Marli Miller/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images/Getty Images) The discovery shows that even familiar fossil sites can still contain scientific surprises. “Coarse belemnite” not only uncovers a previously unknown species, it also reveals that a rare branch of the belemnite family survived in the ancient Sundance Sea long after researchers thought the group had all but disappeared.
