Australian scientists discover fossil of world's oldest mother: 29-05-2008
Australian scientists made a historic discovery when they realised the fish fossil they were studying was actually attached to its offspring by an umbilical cord.
Their study, which was published in British journal Nature on Thursday (May 29th), explains that the Materpiscis attenboroughi, dubbed 'mother fish' is 380 million years old and is the earliest known case of live birth recorded by some 200 million years.
The discovery changes the way that scientists view evolution explains co-author Kate Trinajstic.
"It shows us that live birth was occurring at the same time as egg laying, and that these mechanisms evolved together rather than sequentially," she says.
The embryo and umbilical cord attached to the fish are also now the earliest example of internal fertilisation.
The discovery was made by chance when Trinajstic and lead researcher John Long, head of science at the Museum Victoria, decided to give the specimen 'one last acid bath' to see if they could expose a little more what they had thought was a single fish.