Paleontologists have discovered a new species of Eurhinosaurus — a genus of European longirostrine ichthyosaur characterized by its remarkable overbite — in Bavaria, southern Germany.
Eurhinosaurus mistelgauensis. Image credit: Andrey Atuchin.
“Ichthyosauria is a diverse group of reptiles well-adapted to marine life that thrived from the Early Triassic to the early Late Cretaceous,” said lead author Dr. Gaël Spicher, a researcher at the JURASSICA Museum, the University of Fribourg and the Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn, and his colleagues.
“Ichthyosaurs exhibit morphological features such as limbs modified into fins, elongated snouts, deeply amphicoelous vertebrae, and the development of a tail fin that shows that they were fully adapted to aquatic life.”
“Ichthyosaurs had a cosmopolitan distribution during their entire existence.”
“Southern Germany, especially, is famous for its extensive record of fossil ichthyosaurs from the Lower Jurassic, mainly the Posidonienschiefer Formation, which has yielded thousands of specimens.”
“Among these Lower Jurassic ichthyosaurs, Eurhinosaurus is a relatively rare faunal component,” they said.
“Its paleogeographic distribution is restricted to what is today Europe, with fossil evidence from Germany, the United Kingdom, France, Luxembourg, and Switzerland.”
“This genus is notable for its distinctive elongated and slender snout with an extreme overbite by having the mandible drastically shorter than the upper jaw (more than 60%).”
The newly-described Eurhinosaurus species shares the elongation of the upper jaw typical for its genus.
Named Eurhinosaurus mistelgauensis, it lived during the Jurassic period, around 180 million years ago.
Three specimens of the new species were discovered in the Mistelgau clay pit, part of the Jurensismergel Formation southwest of Bayreuth in northern Bavaria, Germany.
“The fossils include two nearly complete skeletons and a partial snout, preserved three-dimensionally in a semi-articulated state, with elements exposed in multiple orientations,” the paleontologists said.
“Their preservation is exceptional, presenting the bones in three dimensions, which is extremely rare and underlines the importance of describing the specimens.”
According to the authors, these specimens represent the youngest stratigraphic occurrence of the Eurhinosaurus genus.
“These well-preserved fossils from Mistelgau further provide valuable insights into Eurhinosaurus morphology and significantly contribute to our understanding of this historically important ichthyosaur,” they concluded.
The findings were published this week in the journal Fossil Record.
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G.E. Spicher et al. 2025. A new Eurhinosaurus (Ichthyosauria) species from the Lower Jurassic (Toarcian) of Mistelgau (Bavaria, Southern Germany). Fossil Record 28 (2): 249-291; doi: 10.3897/fr.28.154203