The oldest pregnant mommy ever
Who is the oldest ever pregnant mommy? Not some celebrity or a 60 plus recipient of assisted reproductive therapy.
It’s a fish at least 380 million years old, according to Nature New. The fossilized expecting mom from the Devonian period was found by Australian researchers. It contained an embryo and is the oldest record of pregnancy in vertebrates – animals with back bones. The previous record holders were Jurassic reptiles who lived 180 million years ago.
The oldest mum ever was a placoderm. Placoderms are ancient armoured jawed fish which have gone extinct a long time ago. In the fossils, the scientists found small fish inside big fish which usually indicates that the big guys eat the small guys. However, in these fossils, the bones of the little ones were not crushed or damaged by digestive juices. In addition, some sort of umbilical cord was visible. This recent evidence ruled out cannibalism and indicates that vertebrates have been giving birth to live young since 380 million years ago.
Source:
28 May 2008 | Nature 453, 575 (2008)
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