Fossil Ichthyosaur Blubber Is Evidence They Were Warm-Blooded

By Gemma Tarlach
Dec 5, 2018 6:00 PMOct 10, 2019 9:02 PM
ichthyosaur
A roughly 180-million-year-old ichthyosaur fossil includes preserved skin, with pigmentation, and blubber. (Credit: Johan Lindgren)

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For the first time, researchers have identified blubber, and other soft tissue, preserved in an Early Jurassic ichthyosaur. The new interpretation of the 180-million-year-old fossil suggests that the extinct marine reptiles were warm-blooded.

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