The soft tissue and skeletal anatomy of two Late Jurassic ichthyosaur specimens from the Solnhofen archipelago
Ichthyosaurs from the Solnhofen Lagerstätte are among the only examples of soft tissue preservation in the major Middle Jurassic–middle Cretaceous family Ophthalmosauridae. However, few such specimens are currently described, and the taphonomical pathways for the preservation of soft tissue are not...
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| Format: | Article |
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PeerJ Inc.
2022-04-01
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| Series: | PeerJ |
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| Online Access: | https://peerj.com/articles/13173.pdf |
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| author | Lene L. Delsett Henrik Friis Martina Kölbl-Ebert Jørn H. Hurum |
| author_facet | Lene L. Delsett Henrik Friis Martina Kölbl-Ebert Jørn H. Hurum |
| author_sort | Lene L. Delsett |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Ichthyosaurs from the Solnhofen Lagerstätte are among the only examples of soft tissue preservation in the major Middle Jurassic–middle Cretaceous family Ophthalmosauridae. However, few such specimens are currently described, and the taphonomical pathways for the preservation of soft tissue are not well understood. In order to answer this, two new ichthyosaur specimens, one nearly complete and one isolated tail, are described here. The nearly complete specimen is assigned to Aegirosaurus sp. It is accompanied by large amounts of incrustation pseudomorphs (epimorphs) of soft tissue preserved as apatite. It also preserves a nearly complete gastral basket, for the first time in ophthalmosaurids. Soft tissue samples were analyzed using X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) coupled with energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) analysis. The analyses confirm the presence of apatite, with phosphate most likely derived from the body itself. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T06:55:57Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-3d4bc16e1c864306b24a0d805c582648 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2167-8359 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T06:55:57Z |
| publishDate | 2022-04-01 |
| publisher | PeerJ Inc. |
| record_format | Article |
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| spelling | doaj.art-3d4bc16e1c864306b24a0d805c5826482023-12-03T10:03:24ZengPeerJ Inc.PeerJ2167-83592022-04-0110e1317310.7717/peerj.13173The soft tissue and skeletal anatomy of two Late Jurassic ichthyosaur specimens from the Solnhofen archipelagoLene L. Delsett0Henrik Friis1Martina Kölbl-Ebert2Jørn H. Hurum3Department of Paleobiology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, District of Columbia, United States of AmericaNatural History Museum, University of Oslo, Oslo, NorwayDepartment of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Ludwig Maximilian Universität, Munich, GermanyNatural History Museum, University of Oslo, Oslo, NorwayIchthyosaurs from the Solnhofen Lagerstätte are among the only examples of soft tissue preservation in the major Middle Jurassic–middle Cretaceous family Ophthalmosauridae. However, few such specimens are currently described, and the taphonomical pathways for the preservation of soft tissue are not well understood. In order to answer this, two new ichthyosaur specimens, one nearly complete and one isolated tail, are described here. The nearly complete specimen is assigned to Aegirosaurus sp. It is accompanied by large amounts of incrustation pseudomorphs (epimorphs) of soft tissue preserved as apatite. It also preserves a nearly complete gastral basket, for the first time in ophthalmosaurids. Soft tissue samples were analyzed using X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) coupled with energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) analysis. The analyses confirm the presence of apatite, with phosphate most likely derived from the body itself.https://peerj.com/articles/13173.pdfIchthyosaurSolnhofenTaphonomySoft tissueAegirosaurusPhosphatization |
| spellingShingle | Lene L. Delsett Henrik Friis Martina Kölbl-Ebert Jørn H. Hurum The soft tissue and skeletal anatomy of two Late Jurassic ichthyosaur specimens from the Solnhofen archipelago PeerJ Ichthyosaur Solnhofen Taphonomy Soft tissue Aegirosaurus Phosphatization |
| title | The soft tissue and skeletal anatomy of two Late Jurassic ichthyosaur specimens from the Solnhofen archipelago |
| title_full | The soft tissue and skeletal anatomy of two Late Jurassic ichthyosaur specimens from the Solnhofen archipelago |
| title_fullStr | The soft tissue and skeletal anatomy of two Late Jurassic ichthyosaur specimens from the Solnhofen archipelago |
| title_full_unstemmed | The soft tissue and skeletal anatomy of two Late Jurassic ichthyosaur specimens from the Solnhofen archipelago |
| title_short | The soft tissue and skeletal anatomy of two Late Jurassic ichthyosaur specimens from the Solnhofen archipelago |
| title_sort | soft tissue and skeletal anatomy of two late jurassic ichthyosaur specimens from the solnhofen archipelago |
| topic | Ichthyosaur Solnhofen Taphonomy Soft tissue Aegirosaurus Phosphatization |
| url | https://peerj.com/articles/13173.pdf |
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