In a discovery that’s equal parts groundbreaking and gross, scientists have identified what may be the world’s oldest fossilized predator vomit. At nearly 290 million years old, it offers a glimpse into how ancient land animals fed before dinosaurs evolved. Researchers say it represents the earliest confirmed example of fossilized vomit, known scientifically as regurgitalite, from a fully land-based ecosystem. Evidence suggests the vomit came from a large predator, likely an early relative of mammals such as the sail-backed Dimetrodon. The fossil provides the first direct evidence of opportunistic feeding by a land predator.
