Meet Fiona, The Pregnant Icthyosaur Fossil
9:03 minutes
In the Patagonia region of Chile, Torres del Paine National Park is a graveyard of ichthyosaurs—ancient, dolphin-like reptiles that roamed the oceans when dinosaurs dominated the land. Nearly 90 of these giant reptiles’ fossils have been found amongst the glaciers.
But the standout in the bone heap is Fiona, an ichthyosaur that lived 131 million years ago. She’s in pristine condition, the only fully preserved ichthyosaur in Chile. And, she died pregnant.
She’s teaching paleontologists about the evolution of her species. And some of those findings were recently published in the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology.
Host Flora Lichtman talks with lead author Dr. Judith Pardo-Pérez, paleontologist at the University of Magallanes in Chile.
Further Reading
- Our educational resource Fossil Detectives: Use Paleontology To Solve Dino Mysteries lets students examine a set of fossils to classify them as body fossils and trace fossils.
- Explore the diversity of fossil types and test your knowledge with the Fossilize Me! Card Game.
Segment Guests
Judith Pardo-Pérez
Dr. Judith Pardo-Pérez is a paleontologist at the University of Magallanes in Punta Arenas, Chile.
Segment Transcript
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Meet the Producers and Host
About Rasha Aridi
Rasha Aridi is a producer for Science Friday and the inaugural Outrider/Burroughs Wellcome Fund Fellow. She loves stories about weird critters, science adventures, and the intersection of science and history.
About Flora Lichtman
Flora Lichtman is a host of Science Friday. In a previous life, she lived on a research ship where apertivi were served on the top deck, hoisted there via pulley by the ship’s chef.