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Acinonyx is a genus within the cat family. The only living species of this genus, the cheetah A. jubatus, lives in open grasslands of Africa and Asia.
Ichthyosaurus is a genus of ichthyosaurs from the late Triassic and early Jurassic of Europe and Asia (Indonesia). It is among the best known ichthyosaur genera, as it is the type genus of the order Ichthyosauria.
Dakosaurus is an extinct genus of crocodylomorph within the family Metriorhynchidae that lived during the Late Jurassic and Early Cretaceous. It was large, with teeth that were serrated and compressed lateromedially. The genus was established by Friedrich August von Quenstedt in 1856 for an isolated tooth named Geosaurus maximus by Plieninger. Dakosaurus was a carnivore that spent much, if not all, its life out at sea. The extent of its adaptation to a marine lifestyle means that it is most likely that it mated at sea, but since no eggs or nests have been discovered that have been referred to Dakosaurus, whether it gave birth to live young at sea like dolphins and ichthyosaurs or came ashore like turtles is not known. The name Dakosaurus means "biter lizard", and is derived from the Greek dakos ("biter") and σαῦρος -sauros ("lizard").
Termatosaurus is a genus of archosaur known from several specimens spanning two species. Its remains come from the Upper Triassic and was once thought to have survived until the Early Jurassic, but the Jurassic remains were redescribed as plesiosaur remains. It has only been found in France, England, Germany and Switzerland. and two species are known of this animal: the type species, Termatosaurus albertii, named by Meyer and T. Plieninger in 1844; and T. crocodilinus, by Quenstedt (1858). It is very obscure and apparently considered to be dubious.
Geosaurus is an extinct genus of marine crocodyliform within the family Metriorhynchidae, that lived during the Late Jurassic and the Early Cretaceous. Geosaurus was a carnivore that spent much, if not all, its life out at sea. No Geosaurus eggs or nests have been discovered, so little is known of the reptile's lifecycle, unlike other large marine reptiles of the Mesozoic, such as plesiosaurs or ichthyosaurs which are known to give birth to live young out at sea. Where Geosaurus mated, whether on land or at sea, is currently unknown. The name Geosaurus means "Mother of Giants lizard", and is derived from the Greek Ge- and σαῦρος -sauros ("lizard"). The name Geosaurus was established by the French naturalist Georges Cuvier in 1824.
Boverisuchus is an extinct genus of planocraniid crocodylian known from the middle Eocene of Germany and possibly North America. It grew to approximately three metres (10 ft) in length.
Pelagosaurus is an extinct genus of thalattosuchian crocodyliform that lived during the Toarcian stage of the Lower Jurassic, around 183 Ma to 175 Ma, in shallow epicontinental seas that covered much of what is now Western Europe. The systematic taxonomy of Pelagosaurus has been fiercely disputed over the years, and was assigned to Thalattosuchia after its systematics within Teleosauridae were disputed. Pelagosaurus measured 3 m (10 ft) in length with a weight of 450 kg (1000 lbs), and was markedly similar to the modern-day gharial, which has similar adaptions and carnivorous feeding habits.
Diplocynodon is an extinct genus of alligatoroid that lived during the Paleocene to middle Miocene in Europe. It looked very similar to the modern caiman in that it was small and had bony armour scutes covering its neck, back, belly, and tail. The longest Diplocynodon recovered was 4 feet in length and probably fed on small fish, frogs, and took insects when young.
Cricosaurus is an extinct genus of marine crocodyliforms of the Late Jurassic, belonging to the family Metriorhynchidae. The genus was established by Johann Andreas Wagner in 1858 for three skulls from the Tithonian of Germany. The name Cricosaurus means "Ring lizard", and is derived from the Greek Cricos- ("ring") and σαῦρος -sauros ("lizard").
Platysuchus is an extinct genus of teleosaurid crocodyliform from the Early Jurassic (Toarcian) of southern Germany and Luxembourg.
Baryphracta is an extinct genus of diplocynodontine crocodilian. It is closely related to the genera Diplocynodon and Tadzhikosuchus. Fossils have been found from the Messel Pit near Messel, Germany, which was deposited during the Middle Eocene epoch of the Paleogene period. It was not the only crocodilian found from the pit; others include the closely related Diplocynodon as well as crocodylids such as Asiatosuchus and Allognathosuchus. In 1999, the genus was proposed to be synonymous with Diplocynodon, and a subsequent study showed that Baryphracta deponiae is nested within Diplocynodon, which validates this proposed synonymy
The Posidonia Shale is an Early Jurassic (Toarcian) geological formation of southwestern Germany, northern Switzerland, northwestern Austria, southeast Luxembourg and the Netherlands, including exceptionally well-preserved complete skeletons of fossil marine fish and reptiles. The Posidonienschiefer, as German paleontologists call it, takes its name from the ubiquitous fossils of the oyster-related bivalve Posidonia bronni that characterize the mollusk faunal component of the formation.
Dyoplax is an extinct genus of pseudosuchian archosaur, possibly an erpetosuchid. Fossils have been found from the type locality within the upper Schilfsandstein Formation in Stuttgart, Germany. The holotype specimen was a natural cast of a nearly complete skeleton that lacked only parts of the tail and limb bones.
Saurorhynchus is an extinct genus of carnivorous bony fish. It is the youngest representative of the family Saurichthyidae. This family is known for its large, elongate jaws, similar to modern Belonidae. Saurichthyidae also includes the Permian genus Eosaurichthys and the Triassic genus Saurichthys.
Orthogenysuchus is an extinct genus of caimanine alligatorids. Fossils have been found from the Wasatch Beds of the Willwood Formation of Wyoming, deposited during the early Eocene. The type species is O. olseni. The holotype, known as AMNH 5178, is the only known specimen belonging to the genus and consists of a skull lacking the lower jaws. The braincase is filled in by the matrix and most of the suture lines between bones are indiscernible, making comparisons with other eusuchian material difficult.
Pholidosaurus is an extinct genus of neosuchian crocodylomorph. It is the type genus of the family Pholidosauridae. Fossils have been found in northwestern Germany. The genus is known to have existed during the Berriasian-Albian stages of the Early Cretaceous. Fossil material found from the Annero and Jydegård Formations in Skåne, Sweden and on the island of Bornholm, Denmark, have been referred to as a mesoeucrocodylian, and possibly represent the genus Pholidosaurus.
Pristigenys is a genus of marine ray-finned fish in the family Priacanthidae. It contains five extant species and one extinct species, P. substriata, which is known from fossils found in the Eocene of Monte Bolca, Italy.
The Posidonia Shale or Posidonienschiefer Formation is a geological formation of southwestern Germany, northern Switzerland, northwestern Austria, southeast Luxembourg and the Netherlands, that spans about 3 million years during the Early Jurassic period. It is known for its detailed fossils, especially sea fauna, listed below. Composed mostly by black shale, the formation is a Lagerstätte, where fossils show exceptional preservation, with a thickness that varies from about 1 m to about 40 m on the Rhine level, being on the main quarry at Holzmaden between 5 and 14 m. Some of the preserved material has been transformed into fossil hydrocarbon Jet, specially wood remains, used for jewelry. The exceptional preservation seen on the Posidonia Shale has been studied since the late 1800s, finding that a cocktail of chemical and environmental factors let to such an impressive conservation of the marine fauna. The most common theory is the changes on the oxygen level, where the different anoxic events of the Toarcian left oxygen-depleted bottom waters, with the biota dying and falling to the bottom without any predator able to eat the dead bodies.
The Ciechocinek Formation is a Jurassic geologic formation which extends across the Baltic coast from Grimmen, Germany, to Nida, Lithuania, with its major sequence in Poland and boreholes in Kaliningrad. Dinosaur species uncovered here include the Thyreorporan Emausaurus and others with an unclassified genus.
Microcnemus is an extinct genus of lizard-like early archosauromorph reptiles from the Protorosauridae. Members of the genus lived during the Early Triassic period in Russia. Once believed to have been an ancestor to lizards, Microcnemus is now known to be one of the oldest members of the lineage that would eventually lead to archosaurs such as crocodilians and dinosaurs. The type species, M. efremovi, was named in 1940 by the German palaeontologist Friedrich von Huene.
References
- ↑ Schleich, H. H., Vahldiek, B. W., Karl, H. V. and Windolf, R. (1994). Neue Reptilienfunde aus dem Tertiaer Deutschlands. 14. Beschreibung der fossilen Krokodil- und Schildkroetenreste der Helmstedter Mulde (Eozaen) mit Beitraegen zur Geologie und Palaeontologie. Courier Forschungsinstitut Senckenberg173:103-135.
- ↑ Rossmann, T. and Klappert, G. (2000). Studies on Cenozoic Crocodilians and fishes: 6. Helmstedtisuchus freyi Schleich & Windolf, 1994 from the Upper Eocene of Helmstedt (Germany) is not a crocodilian, but a scombrid teleost. Neues Jahrbuch für Geologie und Paläontologie. Abhandlungen2000(11):651-668.
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