新西兰9 800万年前的象牙星化石对海洋爬行动物演变的构想提出了挑战。 98-million-year-old ichthyosaur fossil in New Zealand challenges ideas on marine reptile evolution.

在新西兰发现的 稀有的九千八百万年的象牙星化石 提供了对这些像海豚一样的 古代生物的新洞察力 A rare 98-million-year-old ichthyosaur fossil discovered in New Zealand is providing new insights into these ancient dolphin-like creatures. 这具几乎完整的骨骼是同类中最年轻、最完整的骨骼之一，表明新西兰的鱼龙与南美洲的鱼龙不同。 This nearly complete skeleton, one of the youngest and most intact of its kind, suggests that ichthyosaurs in New Zealand were distinct from those in South America. 这一发现挑战了关于南半球海洋爬行动物之间的进化联系的早期想法,并表明白纪晚期的鱼类更为区域分布. The find challenges earlier ideas about the evolutionary connections between southern hemisphere marine reptiles and indicates a more regional distribution of ichthyosaurs during the Late Cretaceous period.