Amateur Paleontologist Finds 220-million-year-old Fish Fossil In Arizona

An amazing new find took her back by 220 million years.

Amateur paleontologist Stephanie Leco located a First Dig for Everyday People Event at the National Park near Holbrook, in the Petrified Forest, Arizona. It is about 3.5 hours from Phoenix, east of Flagstaff, according to Fox 10 News.

 "It is the jaw bone of a saurichthys, which is a beaked fish that is normally found in the early to mid-Triassic period, where as we were digging in the late Triassic period," Leco said.

It is as small as a nail, but is 220 million-years-old. It is the fossil of a fish jaw, which would be just 3 to 4 times the size of the complete fossil.

The fish is a saurichthys, which was believed to have got extinct in that area that they were digging in.

"The only other evidence of it being in this time period was previously found in China, so this is the first time that it's being seen in the North America for this time period," said Leco.

The entire discovery seems exciting. When she found it, she just gave it to Matt Smith, the parks lead fossil preparer. He wrapped it and put it in a tin, and then took it for close examination under the microscope, according to hngn.

Later, an email was sent to Leco, specifying that the fish was closely related to the genus Saurichthys.

"People who study this group of fish might start setting their sights in our direction now," said Smith, FOX News  reported.

"Anytime we can fill in gaps in the fossil record, it's really important," says Ben Kligman, a senior at the University of California, Berkley, who was also at the dig. "People who don't study Triassic fish may not be excited. The fact you can find new stuff is the real takeaway."