An international research team from Switzerland and Germany has described a new ichthyosaur species based on fossils curated at the Urwelt-Museum Oberfranken (Bayreuth, Germany). The study was published in Museum für Naturkunde Berlin’s open-access journal Fossil Record.
Ichthyosaurs were marine reptiles, with similar body shapes to dolphins and tuna, that lived during the time of the dinosaurs. The research team behind the discovery, led by Gaël Spicher (JURASSICA Museum, Porrentruy, Switzerland), named the new species Eurhinosaurus mistelgauensis in reference to the clay pit of Mistelgau in Upper Franconia, a fossil site that has yielded numerous important finds. “We wanted to highlight the scientific importance of the Mistelgau locality,” explains Gaël Spicher.
Excavations in the clay pit have been conducted regularly since 1998 by the Urwelt-Museum Oberfranken, which recovered and prepared the fossils prior to their scientific study. One specimen originates from a so-called “belemnite battleground,” dense accumulations of Jurassic cephalopod remains that are characteristic of the site.
The newly described species shares the elongation of the upper jaw typical for othe species in the Eurhinosaurus genus, producing a pronounced “overbite” similar to that of modern swordfish. Eurhinosaurus mistelgauensis differs from previously known species by its notably robust ribs and special features in the joint connecting the skull and the neck.
“The naming of a new species emphasises the significance of the Urwelt-Museum Oberfranken’s fossil collections for understanding Jurassic marine ecosystems,” says museum director Dr. Serjoscha Evers. “The Mistelgau site continues to provide rare insights into a time period that is otherwise scarcely documented worldwide.”
Further studies on the Mistelgau material are in preparation. These include analyses of injuries preserved in the ichthyosaur skeletons, which may shed light on the ecology and life history of these ancient marine reptiles.
Original source
Spicher GE, Miedema F, Heijne J, Klein N (2025) A new Eurhinosaurus (Ichthyosauria) species from the Lower Jurassic (Toarcian) of Mistelgau (Bavaria, Southern Germany). Fossil Record 28(2): 249–291. https://doi.org/10.3897/fr.28.154203