Bolca fishes and coral spawning

[Julian F. Sprung]

Hmmm, 

If the fish were killed by an event that suffocated them it seems they
would have rotted and therefore not been preserved. 

Doesn't it seem more likely that a major seismic tragedy simply drained the
water away suddenly, leaving them in mud which rapidly dried and thus
preserved them?

I saw the fascinating article in Coral Reefs. I know little about the Bolca
fishes other than that they were so well preserved that even skin patterns
are visible. This makes me feel certain that they were dried. Leave a dead
fish in water and you have mush and bones in a few days unless the water is
sterilized. I don't suppose that there was a Clorox or formalin reserve in
the vicinity of this region.


Julian Sprung