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‘Thrilling’ embryo fossil discovery upends everything we knew about how early mammals gave birth: ‘Breaks entirely new ground’
- Latest finding shows a therapsid egg from Oviston, South Africa, indicating egg-laying by mammal ancestors 250 million years ago.
- X-ray analysis revealed the embryo within the egg, showing the beak was not yet fused, signaling in-egg development.
- The eggs were large for the body size, suggesting the offspring could be weaned on yolk and survive harsh Triassic conditions.
- Only two egg-laying mammals exist today: the duck-billed platypus and the echidna.
- The discovery sheds light on reproductive origins of modern mammals and their resilience during mass extinctions.
- The fossil, found in 2008, showed an embryo within a soft, leathery eggshell.
- The embryo’s jaw bones had not fused, a trait seen in turtles and birds, indicating in-egg development.
- Researchers described the specimen as a curled-up embryo indicating it was in ovo (inside an egg).
- The study is published in a major science journal, Plos One, as cited in the report.
- The research situates egg-laying mammals within a broader Triassic context, linking to survival during mass extinction.
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