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Exhibition room with ichthyosaurs in the Urweltmuseum Hauff (symbol image)
Photo: Horst Rudel / IMAGO
Dating back 180 million years, a fossil at the Yorkshire Natural History Museum in Britain has been identified as arguably the oldest known vertebrate embryo.
When the museum opened in Sheffield on Saturday, paleontologist Dean Lomax noticed that one of the objects on display was far more interesting and important than initially thought.
The Guardian reported on the accidental discovery.
'He was very excited;
like a kid in a candy store," James Hogg, director of the museum, described the scientist's reaction, according to the report.
"As far as we know, it is the oldest example of a vertebrate embryo found in Britain."
Lomax would have spotted it on opening day.
"We thought it might just be a few vertebrae at first," but Lomax identified the whole embryo: the skull, the teeth, and the whole body, including the fin and ribs.
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According to Hogg, it appears to be the oldest complete ichthyosaur embryo ever recovered in Britain.
According to him, it was found on the Yorkshire coast, north of Whitby.
According to the report, about 1,000 objects are on display in the new museum, which is housed in the former headquarters of a steel mill.
These include minerals and fossils found in the region, such as a mammoth tusk, a domesticated dog, a crocodile skull and the lower jaw of a 3 meter long plesiosaur.
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