The fish fauna of the Late Jurassic Solothurn Turtle Limestone (NW Switzerland)

ller, Moyna K. Mü

doi:10.1007/978-3-0348-0300-7_11

Cited by 2 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 17 publications

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“…Most of the turtles were collected from the Rätschenbank, a highly fossiliferous layer of biomicritic limestone [ 32 ]. The Zetter quarry in St Niklaus, one of the original quarries, was briefly reopened from 1986 to 1989, which allowed the NMS and the Geological Institute of the University of Bern to led several excavation campaigns in order to investigate the depositional environment and paleoecology of the Rätschenbank [ 32 , 34 ]. Numerous turtle remains were collected during these excavation campaigns, but this material is still largely unstudied.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Portlandemys gracilis n. sp., a New Coastal Marine Turtle from the Late Jurassic of Porrentruy (Switzerland) and a Reconsideration of Plesiochelyid Cranial Anatomy

2015

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BackgroundSeveral groups of stem cryptodires became adapted to coastal marine environments as early as the Late Jurassic, 40 million years before the Pan-Chelonioidea. The Plesiochelyidae are a major component of this first radiation of crown-group turtles into marine habitats. They are abundant in many European localities, but their systematics is still greatly confused. Only three species are represented by cranial material: Plesiochelys etalloni, Plesiochelys planiceps, and Portlandemys mcdowelli.Methodology/Principal FindingsIn the present study, we describe a cranium and a mandible from the Kimmeridgian of Porrentruy (Switzerland), which we refer to a new species, Portlandemys gracilis n. sp. This new taxon differs from Portlandemys mcdowelli in several aspects of the cranium and mandible, notably in being generally more gracile, but the two species share a narrow skull, a more acute angle between the labial ridges on the mandible, and a unique configuration of the anterodorsal part of the basicranium. The cranial anatomy of plesiochelyid turtles is discussed in details based primarily on these new specimens and new cranial material of Plesiochelys etalloni from Solothurn, Switzerland.Conclusions/SignificanceSeveral characters (e.g., the contribution of the parietal to the foramen nervi trigemini, the configuration of the dorsum sellae and sella turcica, the presence of an infolding ridge on the posterior surface of the quadrate) appear as potential candidates to help elucidate plesiochelyid relationships. Some of these characters are included in a previously published phylogenetic dataset and help to stabilize the relationships of plesiochelyid turtles and closely related taxa. For the first time, our results suggest that plesiochelyids, 'Thalassemys' moseri, and Solnhofia parsonsi (representing the Eurysternidae) form a clade at the base of Eucryptodira.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Portlandemys gracilis n. sp., a New Coastal Marine Turtle from the Late Jurassic of Porrentruy (Switzerland) and a Reconsideration of Plesiochelyid Cranial Anatomy

2015

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“…). Other Ischyodus specimens from Switzerland were reported by Müller () from the upper Kimmeridgian Solothurn Turtle Limestones (NW Switzerland), without any assignment to a species because of the fragmentary nature of the material. However, they look very similar to our specimens and can be identified as I. quenstedti as well.…”

Section: Systematic Palaeontologymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…(Wenz et al . ; Thies ; Duffin & Thies ; Underwood ; Kriwet & Klug ; Müller ). The chondrichthyan fauna of Ringstead is the most similar to Porrentruy insofar as all genera identified in the Porrentruy material are present in the Ringstead assemblage, except for the genera Asteracanthus (Hybodontiformes), Corysodon (Carcharhiniformes) and Belemnobatis (Rajiformes).…”

Section: Comparison With Other European Faunasmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…With respect to Swiss chondrichthyan faunas from the Late Jurassic, large datasets from bulk samples had never been acquired, and few publications are available on the topic (Agassiz 1843 in 1833–1844; Peyer ; Müller ). Swiss Late Jurassic chondrichthyan faunas were therefore poorly known until now and represent an important missing piece in the chondrichthyan picture of Europe (Kriwet & Klug ).…”

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confidence: 99%

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A new chondrichthyan fauna from the Late Jurassic of the Swiss Jura (Kimmeridgian) dominated by hybodonts, chimaeroids and guitarfishes

Leuzinger¹,

Cuny

Popov

et al. 2017

Papers in Palaeontology

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The fossil record of chondrichthyans (sharks, rays and chimaeroids) principally consists of isolated teeth, spines and dermal denticles, their cartilaginous skeleton being rarely preserved. Several Late Jurassic chondrichthyan assemblages have been studied in Europe based on large bulk samples, mainly in England, France, Germany and Spain. The first study of this kind in Switzerland is based on controlled excavations in Kimmeridgian deposits related to the construction of the A16 motorway in the Swiss Jura (Porrentruy, NW Switzerland). This study is based on more than 2000 isolated chondrichthyan remains (teeth, dental plates, spines and dermal denticles) and adds to our knowledge of the chondrichthyan distribution at a regional scale in Europe. We describe and identify this new fauna, define a new species of hybodont with crushing-type dentition (Asteracanthus udulfensis sp. nov.) and report for the first time the carcharhiniform Corysodon cirinensis in Switzerland. By the Late Jurassic, modern neoselachian sharks had overtaken hybodonts in European marine realms, the latter being gradually confined to brackish or freshwater environments. However, while the associated fauna of the Porrentruy platform indicates marine conditions, neoselachian sharks are surprisingly rare. The chondrichthyan assemblage is largely dominated by hybodonts, guitarfishes (rays) and chimaeroids that are all known to be euryhaline. This unexpected chondrichthyan faunal composition questions the presence of fresh to brackish water in the vicinity of the platform, and the occurrence of salinity fluctuations within a general context marine. This could explain the scarcity of neoselachian sharks and the extended success of hybodonts in the Porrentruy area as late as the Late Jurassic.

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The fish fauna of the Late Jurassic Solothurn Turtle Limestone (NW Switzerland)

Cited by 2 publications

References 17 publications

Portlandemys gracilis n. sp., a New Coastal Marine Turtle from the Late Jurassic of Porrentruy (Switzerland) and a Reconsideration of Plesiochelyid Cranial Anatomy

Portlandemys gracilis n. sp., a New Coastal Marine Turtle from the Late Jurassic of Porrentruy (Switzerland) and a Reconsideration of Plesiochelyid Cranial Anatomy

A new chondrichthyan fauna from the Late Jurassic of the Swiss Jura (Kimmeridgian) dominated by hybodonts, chimaeroids and guitarfishes

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