Ammonites' last meal: New light on past marine food chains

Ammonites are among the world's most well known fossils but until now, there has been no experimental evidence of their place in the food chain. Using synchrotron X-rays, a Franco-American team of scientists led by Isabelle Kruta has discovered exceptionally preserved mouth organs of ammonites, along with the remains of a meal that show that these ammonites dined on plankton. Plankton was largely destroyed in the wake of the same asteroid impact that led to the demise of the dinosaurs and other species. After losing their source of food, ammonites and many other marine groups could not survive this cataclysmic event.