Fossil of fish more than 66million years old is discovered in Africa

THE fossil of a sturgeon thought to be more than 66 million years old is the first of its kind to be discovered in Africa.

The fish — the source of caviar — was believed to have lived only in the northern hemisphere’s cooler waters.

PA

The fossil of a sturgeon thought to be more than 66 million years old is the first of its kind to be discovered in Africa[/caption]

PA

The specimen was was found by palaeontologist Prof David Martill on a field trip to Morocco last year[/caption]

It was found by palaeontologist Prof David Martill on a field trip to Morocco last year.

He said: “I found a piece of rock with bucklers — the bony external plates found on these heavily armoured fish – and knew straight away it was a sturgeon.”

Sturgeons were declared a “royal fish” by King Edward II in 1324.

Prof Martill, of Portsmouth University, added: “This new Moroccan species complicates models of the location of the origin of this group of fish.”

The specimen is now in the collection of a university in Casablanca.

PA

The fish — the source of caviar — was believed to have lived only in the northern hemisphere’s cooler waters[/caption]