Jurassic Ichthyosaur Fossil So Well-preserved The Skin Is Still Soft
By News Staff | December 10th 2018 10:14 AM | Print | E-mail
The ichthyosaur (literally ‘fish-lizard’) lived in what is today southern Germany during the Jurassic Period some 180 million years ago. The two-meter long reptile swam in the vast ocean that is now, after climate and geological changes, Europe.
Researchers have analyzed the remains of an ichthyosaur so well-preserved that its soft-tissues retain some of their original pliability; the most comprehensive and in-depth examination of a soft-tissue fossil ever undertaken. Among other things, the study reveals that the soft parts have fossilized so quickly that both the original cells and their internal contents are preserved.
You can clearly see the body outline and remains of internal organs.
Even the different cellular layers within the skin are distinguished. They identified blubber underneath the skin, which has only been found in modern marine mammals and adult individuals of the leatherback sea turtle. The presence of blubber indicates that ichthyosaurs had metabolic rates that were higher than are those of typical reptiles living today.
https://www.science20.com/news_staff/jurassic_ichthyosaur_fossil_so_wellpreserved_the_skin_is_still_soft-235651
