Nykøbing Mors, Denmark : Two Danish coastal cliffs where palaeontologists have uncovered 55-million-year-old fossils of prehistoric wildlife are likely to gain World Heritage status as UNESCO’s committee meets in South Korea.
They have for decades been known for what UNESCO terms “exceedingly well-preserved” fossils of early insects, birdlife, and more than 80 different fish species, including ancient relatives of mackerel and herring.
“It’s very unique,” said Jan Audun Rasmussen, a researcher and curator from Museum Mors, who co-authored the UNESCO bid.
“What we can show in these deposits is the first evolution of many of the fish lineages and bird lineages,” he told AFP.
Fifty-five million years ago, all of Denmark was covered by water and Limfjord’s low-oxygen clay seafloor provided a perfect time capsule for fish, birds and turtles that died and sank to the seabed.
