The "death drag" of a prehistoric "squid" - or ammonite - made 150-million-years-ago has been preserved as an incredible fossil.
The animal's shell made the 8.5m-long mark as it drifted along the seafloor after its death. Ammonites are one of the most common and popular fossils collected by amateur fossil hunters.
This specimen (Subplanites rueppellianus) was found in a quarry in southern Germany.
Its shell was preserved alongside the mark it made as it drifted along the floor of a tropical lagoon in a steady current.
Such marks are rare in the fread moreossil record.
"The fossil is perhaps one of the most unlikely of fossils to have ever been preserved, let alone be discovered," said Dean Lomax from the University of Manchester, UK, who led the research. "A real chance find."
The new specimen "provides a snapshot of a moment that is captured in time - it really tells a story", he added.
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