80m-year-old fish head found in rockery
The rock, which was found on a beach during a family holiday by Peter Parvin, 74, a former policeman, was taken in for testing after it was suggested it might be more than just unusually-shaped.
Mr Parvin, who is now deputy mayor of Maidstone, Kent, mentioned the stone in a conversation with a constituent who works at Maidstone Museum, during a surgery at The Ten Bells pub in Leeds village. The constituent said Mr Parvin should submit the rock for testing by Dr Ed Jarzembowski, a keeper of natural history at the museum.
After analysing it, Dr Jarzembowski confirmed it was a fossil, and was "virtually indestructible" as it was preserved in flint, rather than chalk, which is more typical. He said it dated from the Cretaceous Period - between 145m and 65m years ago.
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Mr Parvin, who is now deputy mayor of Maidstone, Kent, mentioned the stone in a conversation with a constituent who works at Maidstone Museum, during a surgery at The Ten Bells pub in Leeds village. The constituent said Mr Parvin should submit the rock for testing by Dr Ed Jarzembowski, a keeper of natural history at the museum.
After analysing it, Dr Jarzembowski confirmed it was a fossil, and was "virtually indestructible" as it was preserved in flint, rather than chalk, which is more typical. He said it dated from the Cretaceous Period - between 145m and 65m years ago.