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A CT scan of an ancient marine reptilian that was entombed while pregnant has revealed a Brobdingnagian surprisal — there were two foetus inside her fossilize remains .

" Gemini ! She has another baby,“Judith Pardo - Pérez , a paleontologist at the University of Magallanes in Chile who first unwrap the fossil in 2009 , separate Live Science , adding that she plan to release more details of this discovery in a coming research report .

an illustration of an ichthyosaur swimming underwater with ancient fish

An illustration of the pregnant ichthyosaur (Myobradypterygius hauthali), nicknamed Fiona, swimming 131 million years ago around what is now Chile.

Sixteen ago , researchers working in southern Chile ’s Torres del Paine National Park struck paleontological amber , unearthing the fossilise corpse of a pregnantichthyosaur — a mahimahi - like vulture that patrolled the seas for most of the Mesozoic earned run average ( 252 million to 66 million year ago ) .

The ichthyosaur was preserved in recherche detail , and included the more or less 6 - inch - long ( 15 centimeters ) skeleton of an unborn foetus , the researchers ab initio reported .

The fossil was first chance on in 2009 when Pardo - Pérez was working as a doctorial student . When she returned to the situation a year subsequently , she note unusual finger cymbals between the rib of the main fossil , indicate the presence of a fetus — butit was n’t until 2022 that the meaning ichthyosaur , dubbed Fiona , was fully excavated .

a fossil imprint of an ichthyosaur in the ground

The ichthyosaur dubbed Fiona was around 11.5 feet (3.5 meters) long.

Now , Pardo - Pérez and colleagues have carried out a full psychoanalysis of the fossil . Their finding were published Feb. 25 in theJournal of Vertebrate Paleontology .

Related : The world ’s largest ichthyosaur may have just been discovered in the Swiss Alps

The ichthyosaur , which subsist approximately 131 million year ago , is forecast to have been around 11.5 feet ( 3.5 m ) long . Its noteworthy preservation is assign to the rapid burying of the carcass in sediment , coupled with a lack of scavenger , likely due to dispirited O levels on the seafloor , according to the study . research worker identify it asMyobradypterygius hauthali , a metal money antecedently recognize from other fragmentary remains .

a man uses a rock saw to cut out a fossil

(Image credit: Judith Pardo-Pérez)

This discovery represent the third instance of a significant ichthyosaur from theCretaceous period(145 million to 66 million years ago ) , although pregnant ichthyosaursdating to the JurassicandTriassic periods have also been notice . The fetus ' vertebrae , measure more or less 0.6 inches ( 1.5 cm ) in pinnacle , are amazingly big in dimension to Fiona ’s 11.5 - animal foot length . The researchers feel thatM. hauthalimay have given nascency to comparatively declamatory babies .

Although some earlier ichthyosaurspushed their newborn infant out head first , Fiona ’s remains suggest otherwise . The orientation of the fetus inside Fiona suggests that , like many evolutionary " advanced " ichthyosaurs , M. hauthalidelivered its vernal tail first , an adaptation also seen in mod dolphins and whales .

A rock adage was used to cut out Fiona ’s fogey in southern Chile ’s Torres del Paine National Park .

a large fossil in the lab

(Image credit: Irene Viscor)

Fiona ’s fossil was prove in a lab . CT scans later let on she was significant with twins when she exit .

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a closeup of a fossil

— This 130 million - year - old ichthyosaur was a ' hypercarnivore ' with tongue - similar tooth

The researchers also expose Fiona ’s last meal : the remains of small fishes . This is a uncommon glimpse into the dietary habits of Cretaceous ichthyosaurs , as direct evidence of their meals is uncommon .

Pardo - Pérez is continuing to analyze the meaning ichthyosaur and has performed a CT scan of the fossil , earmark her to observe the intact frame in greater contingent . It was then that she discovered that the ichthyosaur was pregnant with Twin Falls , and she design to publish a Modern study on these finding in the future .

The fossil Keurbos susanae - or Sue - in the rock.

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