Chilean scientists have successfully recovered one of the fossils of ictiossauro most complete in the world, with intact embryos, on the Tyndall glacier, in the Chilean Patagonia region.
O ancient marine reptile preserved and pregnant was nicknamed “Fiona” by scientists. The 4-meter-long fossil will help the team study the embryonic development of ichthyosaurs, which roamed the seas between 250 and 90 million years ago.
According to Judith Pardo, the scientist who made the discovery, the fossil “is the only pregnant ichthyosaur which was found on the planet aged between 139 million and 129 million years.” “So it’s incredibly important,” he stated.
Pardo, a paleontologist at the Gaia Antarctic Research Center at the University of Magallanes, discovered the fossil more than a decade ago, but the site’s extreme weather, rugged terrain and distance made extraction a complex logistical challenge.
Scientists spent 31 days extracting the fossil, which had to be transported by helicopter off the site. Because the fossil was so complete, paleontologists said they had to extract five blocks weighing 200 kilograms to keep the bones intact.
The fossil is being prepared for display at the Rio Seco Natural History Museum in southern Chile.
Pardo said that scientists also discovered 23 specimens of ichthyosaurs during the campaign, bringing the total to nearly 100 found on Tyndall Glacier and making the region one of the hottest sites in the world. ictiossauros most abundant and best preserved on the planet.
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Translated by Luiz Roberto M. Gonçalves
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