Scientists have uncovered the remains of a giant marine reptile that grew to over 20 feet in length and terrorised the seas more than 180 million years ago. The fossil, belonging to the ichthyosaur genus Temnodontosaurus, was discovered at the Mistelgau clay pit near Bayreuth, Germany, a site renowned for its preserved marine fossils.
Discovery and Characteristics
The specimen, which resembles modern dolphins, is estimated to have been over 6.5 metres (20 feet) long. During recent excavations, researchers recovered several parts of its skeleton, including fragments of the skull and lower jaw, the shoulder girdle, forefins, the spine, and over 100 teeth. These findings have provided detailed insights into its anatomical structures.
“Our Temnodontosaurus fossil is one of the youngest finds of this ichthyosaur genus to date. Until now, representatives of this genus have mainly been known from older geological layers,” said Ulrike Albert, a palaeontologist from the Bavarian State Collections of Natural History and co-author of the study published in the journal Zitteliana. “The discovery from Mistelgau now shows that these large marine reptiles survived longer in the Southwest German Basin than previously documented.”
However, due to the absence of a complete specimen, researchers stopped short of confidently assigning it to a specific species.
Evidence of Injuries and Survival
The fossil exhibited striking features, including skeletal modifications presumably caused by injuries. Some of these likely affected the reptile’s shoulder and jaw joints, making its life difficult. “Pathologies primarily affecting the pectoral girdle and mandibular joint likely influenced the animal’s hunting and feeding behaviour, resulting in abraded teeth and the presence of gastroliths,” the researchers wrote in the study.
Gastroliths are small stones that prehistoric reptiles swallowed to aid in crushing and digesting food. They are extremely rare in ichthyosaurs such as Temnodontosaurus. Scientists speculate that the injured animal may have had to change its diet to survive. “The injuries likely significantly limited the animal’s ability to catch prey,” said Stefan Eggmaier, another co-author. “The fact that it nevertheless survived is evidenced, among other things, by its heavily worn teeth and gastroliths, which we were able to identify in the abdominal region.”
Ongoing Research
The ongoing excavations are part of broader research to unravel the ecology of the Jurassic Sea. Scientists hope to conduct further analyses of teeth and bone structures found at the Mistelgau site to better understand the prehistoric area’s ecology.
