Apolithabatis

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Apolithabatis
Temporal range: Late Jurassic, late Kimmeridgian
Apolithabatis (holotype).png
Holotype specimen
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Chondrichthyes
Subclass: Elasmobranchii
Clade: Batomorphi
Order: Apolithabatiformes
Family: Spathobatidae
Genus: Apolithabatis
Türtscher et al., 2025
Species:
A. seioma
Binomial name
Apolithabatis seioma
Türtscher et al., 2025

Apolithabatis (meaning "fossil ray") is an extinct genus of spathobatid rays from the Late Jurassic (Kimmeridgian age) Torleite Formation (Solnhofen Archipelago) of Germany. The genus contains a single species, A. seioma, known from a single complete, well-preserved specimen.

Contents

Discovery and naming

The Apolithabatis holotype specimen, DMA-JP-2010/007, was discovered in a Rygol Company limestone quarry representing outcrops of the Torleite Formation (Arnstorf Member) near Painten in Lower Bavaria, South Germany. The fossil is a holomorphic specimen, meaning that it comprises a complete, articulated animal. [1] Based on the absence of claspers, it can be identified as a female individual. [2]

In 2025, Türtscher et al. described Apolithabatis seioma as a new genus and species of rays in the extinct family Spathobatidae based on these fossil remains. The generic name, Apolithabatis, combines the Greek words απολίθωμα (apolíthoma), meaning "fossil", and βατίς (batís), meaning "ray" or "skate". The specific name, seioma, is derived from the Greek word σείω (seío̱)—in turn coming from σεισμός (seismós), meaning "shake"—referencing the use of explosives to slabs of rock from the outcrop, one of which contained the holotype. [2]

Description

The general bauplan of Apolithabatis is quite similar to extant guitarfish. It is fairly large for a ray, at 120 centimetres (47 in) in length. Apolithabatis is characterized by its pointed snout, large, heart-shaped disc, and long tail. It has two similarly-sized dorsal fins located posterior to the pelvic fin radials. [2]

Classification

Life restoration Apolithabatis (life restoration).png
Life restoration

In their phylogenetic analyses, Türtscher et al. (2025) consistently recovered Apolithabatis as the sister taxon to Aellopobatis , another Solnhofen ray. They also found support for the assignment of these taxa to a basal clade of other Jurassic European batomorphs outside of the crown group, which they named Apolithabatiformes. Their results are displayed in the cladogram below: [2]

Batomorphi

See also

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References

  1. Marramà, Giuseppe; Klug, Stefanie; de Vos, John; Kriwet, Jürgen (2018-12-07). "Anatomy, relationships and palaeobiogeographic implications of the first Neogene holomorphic stingray (Myliobatiformes: Dasyatidae) from the early Miocene of Sulawesi, Indonesia, SE Asia". Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society . 184 (4): 1142–1168. doi:10.1093/zoolinnean/zly020. ISSN   0024-4082.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Türtscher, Julia; Jambura, Patrick L.; Spindler, Frederik; Kriwet, Jürgen (2025-01-23). "Insights into stem Batomorphii: A new holomorphic ray (Chondrichthyes, Elasmobranchii) from the upper Jurassic of Germany". PLOS One . 20 (1): e0310174. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0310174 . ISSN   1932-6203. PMC   11756912 . PMID   39847754.