“They found the bones of an Ichthyosaur in their back paddock. After I examined it, I started flipping over mudstone,” Holland said. “Suddenly I was looking straight into the Cooyoo’s eye,” he said.
The discovery of the 100 million-year-old fossilized fish is being hailed as the catch of the year in paleontological circles, reports News.com.au. This specimen is only the latest fossil to turn up in the Outback after last summer’s floods.
The three-meter-long specimen of a Cooyoo australis (Cooyoo means “fish” in the indigenous dialect), is an ichthyodectid found in the Cretaceous sediment of the 100 million-year-old sea floor near Richmond in Northern Queensland.
Kronosaurus Korner paleontologist Paul Stumkat says the holy grail for all vertebrate paleontologists is to find a complete skeleton, and this particular find was very exciting.
What is spectacular about this specimen is the extent of preserved material,” Stumkat said. “That means we now know how large this fish was and the details of its anatomy.” The bones of the specimen give great detail.
“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,” said Holland.
When Dr. Holland led an expedition to Proa Redclaw Farm, RMIT student Paul Ter, joined him. They were astounded to discover whole skeletons of small fish embedded in a fossilized clam. “These smaller fish were like the equivalent of popcorn – bite-sized prey for larger predators,” Dr. Holland explained.
The Cooyoo and his fossilized snack went on display at Kronosaurus Korner in Richmond, Queensland on Wednesday.
