Wednesday, November 4, 2026
Science

Tiny fossils show brittle stars gathered around a dead whale 9.5 million years ago

Tiny skeletal plates recovered beside fossil whale bones in southern Denmark offer a rare glimpse of life around a whale carcass approximately 9.5 million years ago. Researchers have identified a new species of brittle star, Ophiura huebnerjenseni, from the Gram Clay Pit and suggest it represents th...

Tiny fossils show brittle stars gathered around a dead whale 9.5 million years ago
Image: Phys.org
Tiny skeletal plates recovered beside fossil whale bones in southern Denmark offer a rare glimpse of life around a whale carcass approximately 9.5 million years ago. Researchers have identified a new species of brittle star, Ophiura huebnerjenseni, from the Gram Clay Pit and suggest it represents the first fossil record of brittle stars associated with a whale fall.

Originally published at Phys.org

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