Newly Discovered Pterosaur Unearthed in Germany

Paleontologists have identified a new genus and species of Gnathosaurine Pterosaur named Spathagnathus roeperi from a fossilized specimen discovered in the Solnhofen limestone of southern Germany.

Spathagnathus roeperi lived in the Solnhofen Archipelago during the Late Jurassic period, approximately 150 million years ago.

“The Solnhofen limestone in southern Germany is renowned as one of the most productive fossil sites ever discovered,” states Dr. Alexandra Fernandez, a museum colleague and co-researcher at the Associate Historians Museum at the Statzmurung für Paläontologie und Geologie in Bayern.

“The regions and layers found between Solnhofen and Regensburg have been explored for over 200 years and have produced exceptional specimens, offering unique insights into the paleoenvironment of the subtropical shallow seas.”

“The rich paleobiotic diversity of fauna in the Solnhofen area is attributed to its original sedimentary environment, located in a depression within a shallow marine reef on the north coast of the Thetis Sea, which has been referred to in recent literature as the Solnhofen Archipelago fossil community.”

Fragments of Spathagnathus roeperi were uncovered during a systematic excavation at the Blanc Quarry near Regensburg, Germany.

“The Blanc area represents the oldest section of the Solnhofen complex, and only one Pterosaur has ever been documented from this region,” the paleontologist noted.

Based on their phylogenetic analysis, Spathagnathus roeperi is categorized within Gnathosaurinae, a small subgroup of the Pterosaur family Ctenochasmatidae.

This newly identified flying reptile is also a sister species to the ctenochasmatid pterosaur Tacuadactylus luciae from Uruguay.

“The limestone of Solnhofen is rich in late Jurassic fossil vertebrates, and Pterosaurs are no exception,” the researchers concluded.

“Within this extensive collection, while Ctenochasmatid remains are relatively abundant, Gnathosaurines are quite rare.”

Spathagnathus roeperi marks the earliest representation of Gnathosaurine and extends the paleoenvironmental stratigraphic range of Gnathosaurinae within the broader fossil community of the Solnhofen Islands.

“Additionally, this new species contributes to the known diversity of ctenochasmatids from the late Jurassic, emphasizing the significance of this early radiation within the pterosaur lineage during this period,” the scientists concluded.

Their paper was published this month in the journal Palz.

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AE Fernandez et al. A new species and early appearance of Gnathosaurinae (Pterosauria) from the late Kimmeridgian of Brun, Germany. Palz, published online on June 6th, 2025. doi:10.1007/s12542-025-00725-0