200 million year long sea fossil remains intact

The embryo of a fish lizard found remains in the womb for 200 million years after the mother's death and fossils.

When studying a fossil skeleton on display in the Lower Saxony museum in Hanover, Germany, researcher Dean Lomax of the University of Manchester, England discovered that this is the fossil of the largest fish lizard ever found, IFL Science reported on August 28.

This 3.5-meter (ichthyosaur) fish lizard lives in the ocean at the beginning of the Jurassic period, when the dinosaurs are living on land. What is special is that this fish lizard is pregnant when it died 200 million years ago.

Fish lizard died while pregnant 200 million years ago.(Photo: University of Manchester).

Scientists say the embryo in the animal's belly is less than 7cm long, including the spine, front fins, ribs and some other bones. They also found evidence that the embryo is still growing in the womb when the mother dies.

The findings help prove fish lizards that breed young instead of laying eggs like many other dinosaurs. "This specimen provides a new understanding of the size of animals, and the third pregnant pregnant lizard fossil found," Lomax said.

This fossil lizard named Ichthyosaurus somersetensis was found on the Somerset coast in the 1990s and then transferred to the Lower Saxony museum. The researchers found that the tail of this specimen was added so the skeleton looked more complete and attractive when displayed.

The Greek lizard or "dragon fish" is the extinct marine reptile group about 90 million years ago. Often mistaken for swimming dinosaurs, this reptile has been around since before the first dinosaurs evolved. Fish lizards top the food chain for millions of years and develop a fish-like elongated body to speed up swimming. Scientists calculate fish lizards can reach speeds of 36km / h. The largest fish lizard is over 20m long.