| Ophiopetra Temporal range: | |
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| Ophiopetra lithographica | |
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| Genus: | †Ophiopetra Enay & Hess, 1962 |
| Species: | †O. lithographica |
| Binomial name | |
| Ophiopetra lithographica Enay & Hess, 1962 | |
Ophiopetra is a genus of prehistoric brittle stars. [1] It lived in lagoons in Solnhofen Plattenkalk Formation. It has only one known species, Ophiopetra lithographica.
Both Ophiopetra and O. lithographica were first described by Raymond Enay and Hans Hess in 1962, who determined that the genus belonged to the order Chilophiurida Matsumoto, 1915 (later known as the infraorder Chilophiurina) and that it was related to the families Ophiodermatidae and Ophiochitonidae. [1] In 1965, Hess then showed that the genus Aplocoma d'Orbigny, 1852 [2] was related to Ophiopetra, and proposed a new family, Aplocomidae Hess, 1965, for the two genera. [3] In 2008, Ophiopetra and another genus, OphiohybrisHess, 1964, were placed in a new subfamily, Ophiopetrinae Hess & Meyer, 2008, within Aplocomidae. [4]
Apart from O. lithographica, two further species, O. bathonicaHess, 1964 and O. oertiiHess, 1965, were formerly included in Ophiopetra; in 2013, these two species were both transferred to the new genus Eozonella Thuy, Marty & Comment, 2013. [5]
Machimosaurus is an extinct genus of machimosaurid crocodyliform from the Late Jurassic and Early Cretaceous. The type species, Machimosaurus hugii, was found in Switzerland. Other fossils have been found in England, France, Germany, Portugal, Switzerland and Tunisia. Machimosaurus rex is the largest named teleosauroid and thalattosuchian, with an estimated length of up to 7.15 m (23.5 ft). Machimosaurus is the largest known crocodyliform of the Jurassic.
Termatosaurus is a genus of archosaur known from several tooth specimens differentiated between 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.
Turiasauria is an unranked clade of basal sauropod dinosaurs known from Middle Jurassic to Early Cretaceous deposits in Europe, North America, and Africa.
Massospondylidae is a family of early massopod dinosaurs that existed in Asia, Africa, North America, South America and Antarctica during the Late Triassic to the Early Jurassic periods. Several dinosaurs have been classified as massospondylids over the years. The largest cladistic analysis of early sauropodomorphs, which was presented by Apaldetti and colleagues in November 2011, found Adeopapposaurus, Coloradisaurus, Glacialisaurus, Massospondylus, Leyesaurus and Lufengosaurus to be massospondylids. This result supports many previous analyses that tested fewer taxa. However, this analysis found the two recently described North American massopods, Sarahsaurus and Seitaad, and the South African Ignavusaurus to nest outside Massospondylidae, as opposed to some provisional proposals. Earlier in 2011, Pradhania, a sauropodomorph from India, was tested for the first time in a large cladistic analysis and was found to be a relatively basal massospondylid. Mussaurus and Xixiposaurus may also be included within Massospondylidae.
Palaeocoma is an extinct genus of brittle stars that lived during the Middle Triassic to Early Jurassic Periods. Its fossils have been found in Europe.
Sericodon is an extinct genus of teleosaurid crocodyliform from the Late Jurassic (Tithonian) of Germany and Switzerland. The genus contains a single species, S. jugleri. Sericodon was placed in 'Clade T' (Aeolodontinae) and was found to be the sister taxon to Bathysuchus, another teleosaurid.
Adeopapposaurus is a genus of plateosaurian dinosaur from the Early Jurassic Cañón del Colorado Formation of San Juan, Argentina. It was similar to Massospondylus. Four partial skeletons with two partial skulls are known.
Eurysternum is an extinct genus of thalassochelydian turtle. Its type species is Eurysternum wagleri, the holotype of which has since been lost and only survives in illustrations.
Paleontology or palaeontology is the study of prehistoric life forms on Earth through the examination of plant and animal fossils. This includes the study of body fossils, tracks (ichnites), burrows, cast-off parts, fossilised feces (coprolites), palynomorphs and chemical residues. Because humans have encountered fossils for millennia, paleontology has a long history both before and after becoming formalized as a science. This article records significant discoveries and events related to paleontology that occurred or were published in the year 2013.
This list, 2013 in molluscan paleontology, is a list of new taxa of ammonites and other fossil cephalopods, as well as fossil gastropods, bivalves and other molluscs that have been described during the year 2013.
Aerodactylus is a pterosaur genus containing a single species, Aerodactylus scolopaciceps, previously regarded as a species of Pterodactylus.
Comophyllia is an extinct genus of prehistoric stony corals in the family Latomeandridae. Species are known from the Jurassic and Cretaceous. C. elegans, the type species, is from the Jurassic of France.
Paleontology or palaeontology is the study of prehistoric life forms on Earth through the examination of plant and animal fossils. This includes the study of body fossils, tracks (ichnites), burrows, cast-off parts, fossilised feces (coprolites), palynomorphs and chemical residues. Because humans have encountered fossils for millennia, paleontology has a long history both before and after becoming formalized as a science. This article records significant discoveries and events related to paleontology that occurred or were published in the year 2018.
The Sachrang Formation 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 in 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.
Amanzia is a genus of turiasaurian sauropod dinosaur from the Reuchenette Formation in Moutier, Switzerland. The type and only species is Amanzia greppini, originally named as a species of Ornithopsis and Cetiosauriscus.
The Besano Formation is a geological formation in the southern Alps of northwestern Italy and southern Switzerland. This formation, a short but fossiliferous succession of dolomite and black shale, is famous for its preservation of Middle Triassic (Anisian–Ladinian) marine life including fish and aquatic reptiles. It is exposed in the vicinity of Monte San Giorgio and is among the formations responsible for the area being designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. In Switzerland, it is also known as the Grenzbitumenzone. The Anisian-Ladinian boundary lies in the upper part of the Besano Formation.
Vasum subpugillare is an extinct species of medium to large sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Turbinellidae.
Vexillum terebelloides is an extinct species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk, in the family Costellariidae, the ribbed miters.
Turricula subelegans is an extinct species of sea snail, a marine gastropod mollusk in the family Clavatulidae.
August Buxtorf was a Swiss geologist. He worked at the University of Basel and contributed to ideas on nappes and mountain folds. His cross section of the Jura mountains to guide tunnel building in 1916 was widely used to understand buckling and folding.
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