Fossil Brittle Star Named for Wacken Festival Founders
Researchers describe Ophiura huebnerjenseni, a new species found beside a 9.5-million-year-old whale carcass in Denmark.
Updated on Nov. 4, 2026 in Metal
Scientists have identified a new brittle star species, Ophiura huebnerjenseni, from fossils found next to a whale carcass buried in the ancient North Sea about 9.5 million years ago. The species is named after Holger Hübner and Thomas Jensen, founders of Germany's Wacken Open Air heavy metal festival.
Why it matters
The find offers a glimpse of how whale carcasses on the seabed supported distinct communities of organisms long before the present era. Naming the species after festival founders reflects a playful tribute while the fossils themselves add to the record of ancient marine life.
Only three samples taken directly beside the whale bones contained brittle-star remains, while sea-urchin fragments of comparable size and mineral composition appeared in every sample studied. The total number of brittle-star specimens recovered and whether the species appears at other fossil sites remain unclear.
The players
Ophiura huebnerjenseni
A newly described brittle star species identified from fossils found beside a 9.5-million-year-old whale carcass in Denmark.
Wacken Open Air
A heavy metal festival held annually in Wacken, Germany, widely regarded as one of the largest metal events in the world.
The details
Researchers collected sediment from a 2018 excavation of the whale's lower jaw and vertebrae at a clay pit in southern Denmark, then washed and sieved it. They picked out the smallest fossils under a microscope and examined some with a scanning electron microscope, and the findings were described in Neues Jahrbuch für Geologie und Paläontologie - Abhandlungen.
Timeline
• About 9.5 million years ago: the beaked whale sank to the bottom of the ancient North Sea.
• 2018: excavation of the whale's lower jaw and vertebrae took place.
• November 4, 2026: the article describing the new brittle star species was published.
Deeper Dive
The discovery extends the study of whale falls, in which a dead whale settling on the seabed concentrates a large food supply in one spot and supports organisms that depend on it. Fossilized communities like this one let researchers trace how such ecosystems functioned millions of years before the present era.
Fossil studies like this one help scientists reconstruct how deep-sea ecosystems functioned over millions of years, informing future work on marine biodiversity. The method of sieving sediment and examining microfossils under electron microscopes can be applied to other fossil sites.
The takeaway
Ancient seabeds preserve tiny fossils that reveal how whale carcasses sustained entire communities of marine life. Small sediment samples can hold large clues about past ecosystems when examined carefully.
Further reading
For more on the festival that inspired the species name, explore Metal coverage.
Source note: This article includes information reported by Discover Magazine.
