Anglers ready to snag odd-looking paddlefish

Long before North America’s paddlefish population had to be wary of snaggers’ hooks, they apparently faced another hazard — falling dinosaurs.

The main characteristic that sets paddlefish apart from other North American fish is its spoon-billed snout, known as a rostrum. (Photo: Missouri Department of Conservation)

In 1938, the fossilized remains of a duck-billed dinosaur, also known as a hadrosaur, were found in northeastern Montana. Among the hadrosaur’s bones were found the fossil remains of a paddlefish. Hadrosaurs were plant-eaters, so the fish didn’t get there by being eaten. Instead, it’s theorized what likely happened is either the dying dinosaur collapsed into the water, fell…