Extinct predatory fish Saurichthys. (Picture UZH)
A last meal provides new insights: The fossilized food remains of the extinct predatory fish Saurichthys reflect its spiral-shaped intestine. The spiral valve in fossils from Southern Switzerland is similar to that of sharks and rays. Paleontologists from the University of Zurich have thus closed a gap in the knowledge concerning the evolution of the gastrointestinal tract in vertebrates. A last supper has provided some interesting findings. The digested and undigested remains of the last meal eaten by a Saurichthys, a Triassic bony fish, were discovered in a extraordinary case of preservation that paleontologists at the University of Zurich were quick to take advantage of. They used the fossilized gut contents to prepare the first complete documentation on the gastrointestinal anatomy of this primitive vertebrate. The UZH researchers prepared the fossil, which came from the repository in Monte San Giorgio in Ticino.
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