Fossils Show Marine Reptiles Gave Birth
From Times Staff and Wire Reports
Two fossilized, pregnant marine reptiles in a museum in Taiwan have provided the first evidence that the creatures gave birth to live offspring rather than laying eggs, Canadian researchers reported this week in Nature.
The fossils of two sauropterygians, a large group of marine reptiles that lived from 250 million to 65 million years ago, each contain several embryos. The fossils show the embryos facing the wrong way, suggesting that the females died in childbirth.
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