Original paper
Chimaeroid egg cases from the Late Jurassic of the Solnhofen area (S Germany)
Duffin, Christopher J.; Lauer, Bruce; Lauer, René
Neues Jahrbuch für Geologie und Paläontologie - Abhandlungen Band 306 Heft 2 (2022), p. 161 - 175
35 references
published: Nov 30, 2022
manuscript accepted: Nov 2, 2022
manuscript received: Oct 18, 2022
ArtNo. ESP155030602001, Price: 29.00 €
Abstract
The ichnotaxon Chimaerotheca schernfeldensis nov. isp. is established here for holocephalian egg cases from the Plattenkalk (Altmühltal Formation, Tithonian, Late Jurassic) of the Solnhofen/Eichstätt area of southern Germany, including the first ever double case of a holocephalian described from the fossil record. The egg capsules measure up to 400 mm in length and have a short beak but a very long pedicle; the ratio of capsule length to maximum width is 5.1:1, the largest of any chimaeroid egg case described so far. The moderately well-developed lateral webs are supported by branched and unbranched costae and are confined to the beak, trunk and upper pedicle areas of the case. The egg cases belong to the Rhinochimaera-type ichnospecies group and were probably produced by Ischyodus quenstedti, at around 1.5 m in length the largest of the Plattenkalk chimaeroids.
Keywords
Solnhofen • Plattenkalk • Tithonian • Late Jurassic • Rhinochimaeridae • Chimaeriformes • egg cases • fossil species