Paleontologists have examined the 183 million-year-old Pleciosaurus skeleton from the early Jurassic Posidonia shale in Southern Germany with well-preserved skin traces around the tail and front flippers.
Reconstruction of Jurassic Plesiosaurus from Posidonian Shale in Southern Germany. Image credit: Joschua Knüppe.
Plesiosaurs (Greek “near”) is a symbolic group of Mesozoic marine reptiles with a rich history of evolution.
These creatures roamed the vast Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous seas between 235 and 66 million years ago.
They had a wide, flat body and a short tail, a long neck, and four long propulsive flippers that they used to “fly” through the water.
Their teeth were cone-shaped, sturdy, sharp, robust, ideal for stabbing and killing large animals.
Pleciosaurus fossils have been found on all continents on Earth, with important discoveries in Australia, Europe and North America.
However, it is very rare to associate with fossilized soft tissues.
“Fossilized soft tissues such as skin and internal organs are extremely rare,” said Miguel Marx, Ph.D. A student at Lund University.
“We used a wide range of techniques to identify smooth skin in the tail area and scales along the rear edge of the flipper.”
“This provided unparalleled insight into the appearance and biology of these long, repeating reptiles.”
Compare Jurassic Plesiosaurus specimens from Posidonia shales in Southern Germany. Image credit: Marx et al. , doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2025.01.001.
In their study, Marx and his colleagues analyzed well-preserved plesiosaurus from the world-famous early Jurassic Posidonia shale (Posidonienskihoefer Formation) in Southern Germany.
“Our results reveal an unusual combination of smooth, scaly skin on various parts of the body,” they said.
“We believe this variation could be related to a variety of functions. Pleciosaurus had to swim efficiently to catch animals like fish and squid, which is smooth and fluid. It was made easier by the mechanical skin.”
“But we had to move across the rough seabed.
“Our findings help us create a more accurate reconstruction of our lives for Plesioasurs, which has been extremely difficult since it was first studied over 200 years ago,” Marx said. Ta.
“Also, well-preserved German fossils really highlight the soft tissue potential that provides valuable insight into the biology of these long but animals.”
“Apart from the smooth skin and scale mosaics, it was an incredible moment to visualize cells in thin sections of fossilized plesiosaurus skin,” he added.
“When I saw skin cells that had been stored for 183 million years, I was shocked. It was like seeing modern skin.”
Team's result This week I'll be appearing in the journal Current Biology.
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Miguel Marx et al. Jurassic Plesiosaurus skin, scales and cells. Current Biology Published online on February 6th, 2025. doi:10.1016/j.cub.2025.01.001
Source: www.sci.news
