Oddities

X-ray vision brings new life to a fossil flattened by time

An undated photo provided by Engelschiøn et al. PLOS ONE shows the fossil of a 240 million-year-old ichthyosaur found in Svalbard, Norway. Scientists were able to unlock the identity of an ichthyosaur that had been reduced to a two-dimension jumble of bones. (Engelschiøn et al. PLOS ONE via The New York Times) — NO SALES; FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY WITH NYT STORY SLUGGED TKTK BY JACK TAMISIEA FOR JUNE 5, 2023. ALL OTHER USE PROHIBITED —

It was clear that Oda was an ichthyosaur, but while most of its skeleton remained, eons under a muddy seafloor had squeezed it into a two-dimensional jumble of bones.

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