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New fish fossil found in Germany

June 26, 2018

The previously unknown pufferfish species lived around 150 million years ago. A number of interesting finds have been unearthed at the same stone quarry in northern Bavaria.

https://p.dw.com/p/30HpV
Fossilized pufferfish
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/M. Merz

Scientists in southern Germany have discovered the fossilized remains of a previously unknown pufferfish.

A team from the Bamberg Museum of Natural History made the find in a stone quarry in nearby Wattendorf.

Matthias Mäuser, the head of the museum, said the pufferfish lived around 150 million years ago.

Similar to pufferfish living today, the fossilized remains showed that the fish had teeth.

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Scientists from the museum regularly excavate the Wattendorf stone quarry and have unearthed many interesting finds to date.

In 2011, they discovered the remains of a previously unknown flying dinosaur species known as pterosaurs.

Deutschland Fossiliensuche im Steinbruch bei Wattendorf
Mäuser holds up new fossil find at the stone quarry near WattendorfImage: picture-alliance/dpa/M. Merz

The pufferfish find will be on display at the Bamberg Museum of Natural History before being sent to the Institute of 

Palaeontology at the University of Vienna for further research.

cw/msh (dpa)

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