Fossil reveals oldest live birth (BBC) {NOT about McSame}

Rebecca Morelle
Science reporter, BBC News

A fossil fish uncovered in Australia is the oldest-known example of a mother giving birth to live young, scientists have reported in the journal Nature.

The 380 million-year-old specimen has been preserved with an embryo still attached by its umbilical cord.

The find, reported in Nature, pushes back the emergence of this reproductive strategy by some 200 million years.

Until now, scientists thought creatures from these times were only able to develop their young inside eggs.
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"Placoderms represent the most primitive group of jawed vertebrates, so this work shows that the capacity for internal fertilisation and giving birth to live young evolved very early during vertebrate history."
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more: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7424281.stm

It wasn't the "oldest live birth," since we have to assume that the mother was born alive.

just a quibble.

Also, the article said it was the oldest example.

PB