16 October 2025 The Future is the Product of the Past

Paleontologists Unearth 139 Million-Year-Old Pregnant Dinosaur Fossil in Chile

Archeologists in Chile have unearthed the fossilized remains of a 13ft-long pregnant ichthyosaur from a melting glacier -marking the first time a complete ichthyosaur has been found in the country.

The 139-million-year-old fossil was carefully collected by helicopter following an expedition in March and April this year by the University of Magallanes (UMAG) in the Tyndall Glacier area of Chilean Patagonia.

Named ‘Fiona’ by scientists at the University of Manchester, the 139-million-year-old fossil died when she was pregnant and still had several embryos in her belly.

Ichthyosaurs were marine reptiles that lived in the age of dinosaurs, and Fiona is the only pregnant female of Valanginian-Hauterivian age – between 129 and 139 million years old from the Early Cretaceous period – to be excavated on the entire planet.

Dr. Dean Lomax, a paleontologist working on the study, said: ‘The fact that these incredible ichthyosaurs are so well preserved in an extreme environment, revealed by a retreating glacier, is unlike anywhere else in the world.



📣 Our WhatsApp channel is now LIVE! Stay up-to-date with the latest news and updates, just click here to follow us on WhatsApp and never miss a thing!!



The remains of the creature, which researchers from the University of Manchester have named Fiona, were unearthed from a melting glacier deep in the Patagonia.
The remains of the creature, which researchers from the University of Manchester have named Fiona, were unearthed from a melting glacier deep in Patagonia. Photo: University Of Manchester

‘The considerable number of ichthyosaurs found in the area, including complete skeletons of adults, juveniles, and newborns provides a unique window into the past.’

Now, researchers are keen to find out what information they can gather from the incredibly rare find.

Fiona was first found in 2009 by Dr. Judith Pardo-Pérez, a Magellanic paleontologist and UMAG researcher.

The team hopes to compare the ichthyosaurs found in the Tyndall Glacier with those previously found in Chilean Patagonia.

Collecting this specimen was not easy, as the glacier is within a 10-hour hike or horseback ride. The expedition lasted 31 days and was described by the researchers as an ‘almost titanic challenge.’

‘At four meters long, complete, and with embryos in gestation, the excavation will help to provide information on its species, on the palaeobiology of embryonic development, and on a disease that affected it during its lifetime,’ said Dr. Judith Pardo-Perez, who led the study.

Alongside Fiona, 23 other new specimens were discovered during the expedition, making the Tyndall Glacier the most abundant ichthyosaur graveyard in the world, according to the team.

ichthyosaurs
Ichthyosaurs.

Alongside Fiona, 23 other new specimens were discovered during the expedition, making the Tyndall Glacier the most abundant ichthyosaur graveyard in the world, according to the team.

Fiona will now be prepared in the paleontology laboratory of the Río Seco Natural History Museum in Punta Arenas, where it will be temporarily stored for later exhibition.

University Of Manchester

Related Articles

Ancient Roman Fast Food: Songbirds Were a Popular Snack in 1st-Century Mallorca

11 June 2025

11 June 2025

Roman fast food, ancient Roman cuisine, song thrush consumption, Roman street food, Mallorca archaeology, Pollentia findings, Roman bird bones, ancient...

Rare Anglo-Saxon Gold and Garnet Artifacts Discovered in Wiltshire

12 May 2025

12 May 2025

A breathtaking discovery in the southwestern English county of Wiltshire has captivated archaeologists and metal detecting enthusiasts alike. Two detectorists,...

‘4,200-year-old Zombie grave’ discovered in Germany

22 April 2024

22 April 2024

Archaeologists excavating in East Germany have found a 4,200-year-old grave near Oppin in Saxony-Anhalt containing the skeleton of a man...

Thor’s hammer amulet discovered in Sweden

23 October 2022

23 October 2022

Archaeologists have unearthed the Thor’s Hammer amulet, which they call “one of its kind” in Ysby in southwestern Sweden’s Halland...

2,000-Year-Old Unique Composite Fish Scaled Armor Found in Ancient Tomb

20 December 2024

20 December 2024

Chinese researchers have recently found fish-scaled armor in the tomb of Liu He, Marquis of Haihun from the Western Han...

Christians Supplied Medieval Pagans with Horses for Sacrifice for Funeral Rituals

20 May 2024

20 May 2024

In the late medieval period, pagans in the Baltic region of northern Europe imported horses from neighboring Christian nations for...

Turkish researchers use Artificial Intelligence to read cuneatic Hittite tablets

9 January 2023

9 January 2023

Thanks to a project implemented in Türkiye, 1,954 ancient Hittite tablets are being read for the first time using artificial...

Archaeologists discovered 7,000-years-old Neolithic Settlement in the Czech Republic

31 July 2024

31 July 2024

Archaeologists have discovered a Neolithic settlement of about 7,000 years old near Kutná Hora, east of Prague in the Czech...

Early Imperial cemetery in Nîmes, in the south of France

4 October 2022

4 October 2022

Inrap archaeologists excavating at Nîmes in southern France have uncovered a cemetery dating to the first to second centuries AD...

An inscription with the name of the ancient city was found at the excavation site in Gordion, the capital of the Phrygians

8 August 2022

8 August 2022

An inscription bearing the name of the ancient city was found at the excavation site in Gordion, the capital of...

World’s oldest wooden structure ‘476,000 years old’ discovered in Zambia

20 September 2023

20 September 2023

An ancient wooden structure found at Kalambo Falls, Zambia—dated to about 476,000 years ago—may represent the earliest use of wood...

A Sunken Land of Life and Intelligence: The Lost World of Homo Erectus Resurfaces After 140,000 Years

25 May 2025

25 May 2025

Archaeologists discover ancient human fossils and extinct megafauna on the seafloor of the Madura Strait, revealing that Homo erectus once...

10 Ancient Shipwrecks and Finds from Prehistoric to Ottoman Periods Discovered οff Kasos Island in Greece

14 March 2024

14 March 2024

The research team of the National Hellenic Research Foundation, in collaboration with the Ministry of Culture, has identified ten shipwrecks...

Teymareh Petroglyphs, One of the World’s Largest Rock Art Collections, at Risk of Disappearing Due to Mining Activities

20 August 2024

20 August 2024

Petroglyphs are among the world’s oldest practiced art forms and are as diverse as the wide-ranging cultures and civilizations that...

The statue head of Hygieia, the Greek goddess of health, found stuck between two rocks in Laodikeia

21 May 2024

21 May 2024

A 2100-year-old statue head of the Hygieia (Health) Goddess was found during the excavations in the ancient city of Laodikeia...