Tiny fossils show brittle stars gathered around a dead whale 9.5 million years ago

Tiny skeletal plates found near fossil whale bones in southern Denmark reveal a new species of brittle star, Ophiura huebnerjenseni, that lived around a whale carcass approximately 9.5 million years ago. This marks the first fossil evidence of brittle stars associated with a whale fall. Researchers from Denmark, Germany and Luxembourg collected sediment samples during an excavation of a beaked whale's jaw and associated vertebrae.

The distinctive nature of the brittle star's skeletal plates, located solely beside the whale bones, provided the crucial clue. Sea urchin fragments of similar size and mineral composition were found in every sample, suggesting preservation as the likely explanation for the brittle stars' presence near the bones. Whale falls are known to attract brittle stars in today's oceans, but their fossil record lacked such associations.

This discovery from the Gram Clay Pit suggests this ecological connection existed during the Late Miocene. The fossils do not provide information on what the brittle stars ate or if they exclusively depended on whale falls. The researchers propose a more generalist animal that typically inhabited the surrounding seabed and gathered around the carcass in large numbers, leaving a detectable fossil record.

The site is interpreted as a shallow-water whale fall where enrichment from the carcass supported opportunistic animals. The new species honors Holger Hübner and Thomas Jensen, founders of Wacken Open Air, a renowned heavy metal music festival held in the same geological deposits.