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It was a bit of spring cleaning that uncovered a 460 million year old fossil of an underwater 'killing machine' at the Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory.
Endoceras (Ancient Greek for 'inner horn') is an extinct genus of large cephalopod that resembled a giant 'straightened-out' nautilus.
An Endoceras fossil had been in the Darwin museum's collection for years when senior curator Adam Yates stumbled across it when the institution was moving items to its new digs at Megafauna Central in the heart of Alice Springs.
'This particular fossil was found lurking in the basement of the old space where the collection was temporarily stored,' Yates told the Australian Broadcasting Company (ABC).
While Endoceras were widespread in North America and Europe, this one lived in Central Australia, swimming in shallow seas that are now the dry, desert-like Outback.
The Endoceras fossil (pictured) had been in the collection of the Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory for years before curator Adam Yates stumbled across it when the institution was moving items to its new Alice Spring digs at Megafauna Central
