Fiona, 1st complete fossilized ichthyosaur found in Chilean glacier
Online News EditorMay 10, 2022
Santiago, May 10 (EFE).- The fossilized skeleton of a female ichthyosaur, dubbed “Fiona” by archaeologists, was found underneath a glacier in Chile’s Patagonia region and is the first extinct marine reptile to be found with its remains intact, its discoverers announced Tuesday.
The find of the clearly pregnant ancient sea-dweller, which was shared on Tuesday by the Universidad de Magallanes, was the result of a pioneering expedition carried out in March and April of this year and headed by Chilean paleontologist Judith Pardo, who removed the fossil from the rocks in which it was embedded, extracting the complete skeleton with the help of an international team.
Fiona – found in the Tyndall Glacier, located in the Torres del Paine National Park in southern Chile – is four meters long and the only pregnant female ichthyosaur ever found from the early Cretaceous Period, the third and last period of the Mesozoic Age between 129 and 139 million years ago.
“Fiona is complete, articulated and with embryos in gestation. And her recovery will contribute information related to her species and to paleobiology, pertaining to embryonic development and to a disease that affected her during her life,” Pardo said.
More:
https://www.laprensalatina.com/fiona-1st-complete-fossilized-ichthyosaur-found-in-chilean-glacier/
