200 million year old ichthyosaur fossil with intact embryo

The embryo of an ichthyosaur has been found still in the womb 200 million years after the mother died and fossilized.

An ichthyosaur that died while pregnant 200 million years ago. Photo: University of Manchester.

When studying a fossil skeleton on display atLower Saxony Museum in Hanover, Germany,Researcher Dean Lomax at the University of Manchester, UK discovered that this is the fossil of the largest ichthyosaur ever found,IFL ScienceAugust 28 news.

This 3.5 meter long ichthyosaur lived in the ocean during the early Jurassic period, when dinosaurs lived on land. What's special is that this ichthyosaur waspregnant when she died 200 million years ago.

Scientists said the embryo in the animal's belly was less than 7cm long and included the spine, front fins, ribs and other bones. They also found evidence that the embryo was still developing in the mother's womb when she died.

The discovery helps prove that ichthyosaurs gave birth to live young instead of laying eggs like many other dinosaurs. "This specimen provides new insights into the size of the animal and is only the third pregnant ichthyosaur fossil ever found," Lomax said.

This fossil of the ichthyosaur Ichthyosaurus somersetensis was found on the Somerset coast in the 1990s and later moved to the Lower Saxony museum.Researchers found that the tail of this specimen was added to make the skeleton look more complete and attractive for display.

Ichthyosaurs, or "ichthyosaurs" in Greek, are a group of marine reptiles that became extinct about 90 million years ago. Often mistaken for swimming dinosaurs, these reptiles existed before the first dinosaurs evolved. Ichthyosaurs were at the top of the food chain for millions of years and developed elongated, fish-like bodies to increase their swimming speed. Scientists estimate that ichthyosaurs could reach speeds of 36 km/h. The largest ichthyosaurs were over 20 m long.

According to VNE