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Fossil of a fish like thing with a triangular head. Legs are also visible though - so not a fish.

Image stolen shamelessly from the DK Encyclopaedia of Dinosaurs and Pre-historic Life.

Andrias is a genus of giant salamanders. It includes the largest salamanders in the world. While extant species are only known from East Asia, several extinct species in the genus are known from late Oligocene and Neogene.

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From:

spiralsheep

And here's a random celebratory reply to your excellent random fossil. Outstanding work growing that skull imo.

In the spirit of fair exchange, I wondered if you've ever seen the oldest fossil of a hermit crab, which lived and died inside an ammonite shell, found in Speeton Clay in North Yorkshire?

https://deepseanews.com/2015/11/jurassic-hermit-crabs-are-even-more-awesome-than-you-can-envision/

From:

purplecat

That's amazing! I wonder why there are so few fossilised hermit crabs - I can see why some animals are more likely than others to die in swamps/river beds etc., but you'd have thought hermit crabs would be well placed to get covered with silt and such like.

From:

spiralsheep

I'd guess geological conditions, and available minerals, that fossilise calcium carbonate (mollusc shell) are more common than those that preserve chitin/polysaccharide (crab claws etc), and conditions that favour both for preservation are even rarer, but chemistry was the only subject I failed at school so take my opinion with a pinch of salt.

From:

ysabetwordsmith

I've seen references to those before. They are so cool.

From:

purplecat

There's something about creatures which are very similar to really ancient forms of life...

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purplecat

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