Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-75dct Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-06-01T03:07:06.816Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

A new ichthyosaur from the Upper Jurassic lithographic limestones of Bavaria

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 July 2015

N. Bardet  and
M. Fernandez
N. Bardet
Affiliation:
Laboratoire de Paléontologie, UMR 8569 du CNRS, Museum National d'Histoire Naturelle, 8 rue Buffon, 75005 Paris, France
M. Fernandez
Affiliation:
Departamento de Paleontología de Vertebrados, Museo de La Plata, Paseo del Bosque, 1900 La Plata, Argentina
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Two ichthyosaurian specimens from the Upper Jurassic lithographic limestones of Bavaria, namely an almost complete skeleton with soft tissue impression and another partial one, are described for the first time. Both belong to the same taxon, which is mainly characterized by a long and slender snout; numerous small, delicate, packed, and well-anchored teeth; a medium size orbit; a reduced triangular squamosal in the cheek region; an angular largely exposed laterally reaching as far anteriorly as the surangular; a humerus with three distal facets for radius, intermedium and ulna; an extrazeugopodial element anterior to the radius; a very reduced hindlimb; packed polygonal paddle elements; and a bipartite pelvis with a distally greatly expanded puboischiatic complex. This combination of characters permits differentiation from all other known genera; moreover, it could be compared to the species inquirendae Ichthyosaurus leptospondylus Wagner, 1853a. A new genus, Aegirosaurus, is created and proposed as a new combination for this species. Aegirosaurus clearly belongs to the clade Ophthalmosauria because of an angular largely exposed laterally and reaching as far anteriorly as the surangular, and the occurrence of an extrazeugopodial element anterior to the radius and the associated digit distal to it. A systematic review of ichthyosaurs from the lithographic limestone of Bavaria (most of them destroyed during World War II) reveals the occurrence of probably three different taxa, namely Aegirosaurus, an indeterminate form close to Ophthalmosaurus or Caypullisaurus, and an indeterminate one possibly close to Nannopterygius.

Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Paleontology , Volume 74 , Issue 3 , May 2000 , pp. 503 - 511
Copyright
Copyright © The Paleontological Society 2000

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Allison, P. A. 1988. The role of anoxia in the decay and mineralization of proteinaceous macrofossils. Paleobiology, 14:139–154.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Arkhangelsky, M. S. 1997. On a new ichthyosaurian genus from the Lower Volgian substage of the Saratov, Volga Region. Paleontological Journal, 31(1):87–90.Google Scholar
Arkhangelsky, M. S. 1998. On the ichthyosaurian fossils from the Volgian stage of the Saratov Region. Paleontological Journal, 32(2):192–196.Google Scholar
Arkhangelsky, M. S. 1999. On an Ichthyosaur from the Callovian Stage of the Volga Region near Saratov. Paleontological Journal, 33(1):88–90.Google Scholar
Bardet, N. S., Duffaud, M., Martin, J.-M., Mazin, X., Suberbiola, Pereda, and Vidier, J.-P. 1997. Découverte de l'ichthyosaure Ophthalmosaurus dans le Tithonien (Jurassique supérieur) du Boulonnais, Nord de la France. Neues Jahrbuch für Geologie und Paläontologie, Abhandlungen, 205(3):339–354.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Barthel, K. W., Swinburne, N. H. M., and Conway Morris, S. 1990. Solnhofen: A study of Mesozoic palaeontology. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 236 p.Google Scholar
Bauer, F. 1898. Die Ichthyosaurier des oberen weissen Jura. Palaeontographica, 44:283–328.Google Scholar
Blainville, H. de. 1835. Système d'Herpétologie. Nouvelles Annales du Museum d'Histoire Naturelle, 4:37–295.Google Scholar
Conybeare, W. D. 1822. Additional notices on the fossil genera Ichthyosaurus and Plesiosaurus . Transactions of the Geological Society of London, 1st series, 1(1):103–123.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
De La Beche, H. T., and Conybeare, W. D. 1821. Notice on the discovery of a new fossil animal, forming a link between the Ichthyosaurus and the crocodile, together with general remarks on the osteology of the Ichthyosaurus . Transactions of the Geological Society of London, 1st series, 5(2):559–594.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Efimov, V. M. 1998. An Ichthyosaur, Otschevia pseudoscythica gen. et sp. nov. from the Upper Jurassic strata of the Ulyanovsk Region (Volga region). Paleontological Journal, 32(2):87–191.Google Scholar
Efimov, V. M. 1999a. Ichthyosaurs of a New Genus Yasykovia from the Upper Jurassic Strata of European Russia. Paleontological Journal, 33(1):91–98.Google Scholar
Efimov, V. M. 1999b. A New Family of Ichthyosaurs, the Undosauridae fam. nov. from the Volgian Stage of the European Part of Russia. Paleontological Journal, 33(2):174–181.Google Scholar
Fraas, E. 1891. Die Ichthyosaurier der süddeutschen Trias- und Jura-Ablagerungen. Laupp'schen Buchandlung, Tübingen, 81 p.Google Scholar
Fernández, M. S. 1997. A new ichthyosaur from the Tithonian (Late Jurassic) of the Neuquén Basin, Northwestern Patagonia, Argentina. Journal of Paleontology, 71:479–484.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fernández, M. S. 1998. Nuevo material de Caypullisaurus bonapartei Fernández (Reptilia: Ichthyosauridae) del Jurásico superior de la Cuenca Neuquina, Argentina. Ameghiniana, 35(1):21–24.Google Scholar
Frickhinger, K. A. 1994. Die Fossilien von Solnhofen: Dokumentation der aus den Plattenkalken bekannten Tiere und Pflanzen—The Fossils of Solnhofen: Documenting the Animals and Plants known from the Plattenkalks. Soldschneck, Korb, 333 p.Google Scholar
Godefroit, P. 1994a. Les reptiles marins du Jurassique inférieur en Lorraine belgo-luxembourgeoise. Unpublished Ph.D. thesis, Catholic University of Louvain-la-Neuve, 359 p.Google Scholar
Godefroit, P. 1994b. Les reptiles marins du Toarcien (Jurassique inférieur) belgo-luxembourgeois. Mémoires pour servir à l'Explication des Cartes Géologiques et Minières de la Belgique, 39:1–98.Google Scholar
von Huene, F. 1922. Die Ichthyosaurier des Lias und ihre Zusammenhänge. Sebrüder Borntraeger, Berlin, 114 p.Google Scholar
Hulke, J. W. 1870. Note on some teeth associated with two fragments of jaw from Kimmeridge Bay. Quartely Journal of the Geological Society of London, 26:172–174.Google Scholar
Jaeckel, O. 1904. Eine neue Darstellung von Ichthyosaurus . Zeitschrift der deutschen geologischen Gesellschaft, 56:26–34.Google Scholar
Johnson, R. 1977. Size independent criteria for estimating relative age and the relationship among growth parameters in a group of fossil reptiles (Reptilia: Ichthyosauria). Canadian Journal of Earth Science, 14:1916–1924.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kiprijanoff, W. 1881. Studien über die fossilen Reptilien Russlands. Theil 1: Gattung Ichthyosaurus König aus dem severischen Sandstein oder Osteolith der Kreide-Gruppe. Mémoires de l'Académie Impériale des Sciences de St.-Pétersbourg, 28(8), 103 p.Google Scholar
Kirton, A. M. 1983. A review of British Upper Jurassic ichthyosaurs. Unpublished Ph.D. thesis, University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, 239 p.Google Scholar
Kuhn, O. 1946. Ein Skelett von Ichthyosaurus (Platypterygius) hercynicus n. sp. aus dem Aptium von Gitter. Bericht der Naturforschenden Gesellschaft Bamberg, 29:69–82.Google Scholar
Lydekker, R. 1889a. Catalogue of the Fossil Reptilia and Amphibia in the British Museum (Natural History), Pt. 2, Ichthyopterygia and Sauropterygia. London, 307 p.Google Scholar
Lydekker, R. 1889b. Palaeozoology, p. 884–1474. In Nicholson, H. A. and Lydekker, R., A manual of palaeontology for the uses of students with a general introduction on the principles of palaeontology (third edition). 2(3). Edinburgh.Google Scholar
Lydekker, R. 1889c. On an ichthyosaurian paddle showing the contour of the integuments. Geological Magazine, 3(6):388–390.Google Scholar
Maisch, M. W. 1998. A new ichthyosaur genus from the Posidonia Shale (Lower Toarcian, Jurassic) of Holzmaden, SW-Germany with comments on the phylogeny of post-Triassic ichthyosaurs. Neues Jahrbuch für Geologie und Paläontologie, Abhandlungen, 209(1)47–78.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Marsh, O. C. 1880. Note on Sauronodon . American Journal of Sciences, 3(19):491.Google Scholar
Martill, D. M. 1993. Soupy substrates: a medium for the exceptional preservation of ichthyosaurs of the Posidonia Shale (Lower Jurassic) of Germany. Kaupia, 2:77–97.Google Scholar
Martill, D. M. 1995. An ichthyosaur with preserved soft tissue from the Sinemurian of southern England. Palaeontology, 38:897–903.Google Scholar
McGowan, C. 1974. A revision of the latipinnate ichthyosaurs of the Lower Jurassic of England (Reptilia: Ichthyosauria). Life Sciences Contribution, Royal Ontario Museum, 100:1–30.Google Scholar
McGowan, C. 1976. The description and phenetic relationships of a new ichthyosaur genus from the Upper Jurassic of England. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences, 13:668–683.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McGowan, C. 1994. Temnodontosaurus risor is a juvenile of T. platyodon (Reptilia: Ichthyosauria). Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, 14:472–479.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McGowan, C. 1996. The taxonomic status of Leptopterygius Huene, 1922 (Reptilia, Ichthyosauria). Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences, 33:439–443.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McGowan, C. 1997. The taxonomic status of the late Jurassic ichthyosaur Grendelius mordax: a preliminary report. Journal of Vertebrate Palaeontology, 17:428–430.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Merriam, J. C. 1908. Triassic Ichthyosauria, with special reference to the american forms. Memoirs of the University of California, 1(1), 196 p.Google Scholar
von Meyer, H. 1863. Ichthyosaurus leptospondylus Wag.? aus dem lithographischen Schiefer von Eichstätt. Palaeontographica, 11:222–225.Google Scholar
Motani, R. 1999a. On the evolution and homology of ichthyosaurian forefins. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, 19:28–41.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Motani, R. 1999b. Phylogeny of the Ichthyopterygia. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, 19:473–496.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Motani, R. N., Minoura, , and Ando, T. 1998. Ichthyosaurian relationships illuminated by new primitive skeletons from Japan. Nature, 393:255–257.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Owen, R. 1840. Report on British fossil reptiles. Reports of the British Association for the Advancement of Sciences for 1839, 9:43–126.Google Scholar
Owen, R. 1841. A description of some of the soft parts, with the integument, of the hind fin of the Ichthyosaurus, indicating the shape of the fin when recent. Transactions of the Geological Society of London, 2(6):199–201.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Quenstedt, A. 1852. Handbuch der Petrefaktenkunde. Tubingen, 792 p.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Seeley, H. G. 1874. On the pectoral arch and forelimb of Ophthalmosaurus, a new ichthyosaurian genus from the Oxford Clay. Quartely Journal of the Geological Society of London, 30:699–707.Google Scholar
Valenciennes, A. 1861a. D'une tête de grand Ichthyosaure trouvée dans l'argile de Kimmeridge par M. Lennier, au Cap de la Hève près le Havre. Comptes Rendus Hebdomadaires de l'Académie des Sciences, 53:267–273.Google Scholar
Valenciennes, A. 1861b. D'un nouveau reptile très voisin du genre Ichthyosaurus, trouvé dans l'argile du Kimmeridge de Bléville, au nord du cap la Hève du Havre. Comptes Rendus Hebdomadaires de l'Académie des Sciences, 53:999–1001.Google Scholar
Wagner, A. 1852. Neu aufgefundene Saurier Ueberreste aus den lithographischen Schiefern und dem obern Jurakalke. Abhandlungen der Mathematische-Physische Classe der königlische bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaft, 6:661–710.Google Scholar
Wagner, A. 1853a. Die Characteristic einer neuen Art von Ichthyosaurus aus den lithographischen Schiefern und eines Zahnes von Polyptychodon aus dem Gründsandsteine von Kelheim. Bulletin der königlische Akademie der Wissenschaft, Gelehrte Anzeigen, 3:25–35.Google Scholar
Wagner, A. 1853b. Beschreibung einer fossilen Schildkröte und etlicher anderer Reptilien—Ueberreste aus den lithographischen Schiefern und dem Gründsandsteine von Kelheim. Abhandlungen der Mathematische-Physische Classe der königlische bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaft, 7(1):239–264.Google Scholar
Wagner, A. 1861. Neue Beiträge zur Kenntniss der urweltlichen Fauna des lithographischen Schiefers. Abhandlungen der Mathematische-Physische Classe der königlische bayerische Akademie der Wissenschaft, 9(1):65–124.Google Scholar
Zeiss, A. 1977. Jurassic Stratigraphy of Franconia. Stuttgarter Beitrage in Naturkunde, B, 31, 32 p.Google Scholar