Sachs, of Bielefeld Natural History Museum in Germany, first saw the specimen back in August 2016 while on a routine research visit. Noticing that this was not your ordinary ichthyosaur specimen, Sachs contacted Dean Lomax, a palaeontologist and ichthyosaur expert from the University of Manchester in the UK. Together, they studied the specimen closely, identifying it as a species called Ichthyosaurus somersetensis, which Lomax had only newly identified and named earlier this year.
The researchers identified the skeleton as belonging to an adult female. How? Well, the animal was pregnant at the time! Encased for more than 200 million years in stone, the researchers discovered the delicately fossilised remains of an ichthyosaur embryo inside the ribcage of the adult.
According to Lomax, this is only the third known fossil of an Ichthyosaurus with an embryo, making it a rare and special discovery.
“With over a thousand Ichthyosaurus specimens known it is surprising that this (the largest) has gone unnoticed for such a long time,” said Lomax. “When I heard of this specimen I instantly arranged to visit and study it! As it is the biggest known, it will help in understanding how these ichthyosaurs developed and changed over time.”
The embryo fossil itself is contained within the fossil of the mother, and is therefore the first which can be confidently assigned to a particular species of ichthyosaur. It is only partially complete, preserving some of the 6-7cm long vertebral column, a tiny fore-fin with a spongy texture, characteristic of immature skeletons, as well as several ribs and other bones.
Does this mean Ichthyosaurus gave birth just to one individual at a time? Or was this just an unlucky individual who died before giving birth to its final offspring? Only with more specimens and research will these questions be answered!
Reference
Lomax, D.R. and Sachs, S. 2017. On the largest Ichthyosaurus: A new specimen of Ichthyosaurus somersetensis containing an embryo. Acta Palaeontologica Polonica, 62(3), 2017: 575-584, doi:10.4202/app.00376.2017.
Image Credit:
Joschua Knüppe
Franz
Anthony
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