In archaeology and paleontology, discoveries from different parts of the world regularly allow experts to reinterpret what was discovered many years ago. A set of fossils discovered a century ago was re-evaluated, leading to a new insight into its identification.
(Photo: Wikimedia Commons/ S. N. F. Spiekman, M. D. Ezcurra, A. Rytel, W. Wang, E. Mujal, M. Buchwitz & R. R. Schoch)
Giant from the Middle Triassic
In 1917, F. Broili and E. Fischer first described a type of species based on the remains of an animal found in the Solling Formation (Buntsandstein) in Germany. It is owned by a species of giant marine reptile named Trachelosaurus fischeri. This extinct genus of lizard-like early archosauromorph reptiles belongs to the family Trachelosauridae.
It was first discovered in the 19th century in layers of the Middle Triassic in Bernburg an der Saale, Germany. Subsequently, it was added to the collection of Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg and is currently on loan to the State Museum of Natural History Stuttgart.
The set of fossils was first described in a publication in 1918, but the kind of reptile it represents has remained controversial. This is due to the animal's unique anatomy, including its unusually large number of vertebrae. The relatively poor fossil preservation also adds to the problem in its identification. Aside from being incomplete, the remains are also scattered all over the rock in which it was preserved.
New World Record Unlocked
An international team of scientists and paleontologists from the State Museum of Natural History Stuttgart re-examined the fossil of the giant reptile. This is due to the recent fossil discoveries from the Guanling Formation of southern China.
After being compared with a similar marine reptile from China, Trachelosaurus fischeri was recognized as the oldest long-necked marine reptile in the world. The details of the study are described in the paper "A redescription of Trachelosaurus fischeri from the Buntsandstein (Middle Triassic) of Bernburg, Germany: the first European Dinocephalosaurus-like marine reptile and its systematic implications for long-necked early archosauromorphs."
Trachelosaurus fischeri is the first fossil of its reptile group to be discovered outside of China.
By studying the Chinese fossils of the long-necked marine reptile Dinocephalosaurus, the research team solved the mystery of Trachelosaurus fischeri. Its anatomy revealed that it is closely related to its Chinese counterpart.
About 252 million years ago, the great mass extinction at the Permian-Triassic boundary led to a rapid diversification of new reptile species on land and water. This process included the first long-necked marine reptiles. How such complex evolutionary biological developments occurred has been an important research subject.
Scientists assumed that Trachelosaurus fischeri got washed into a shallow water area 247 million years ago. This theory was supported by the footprints of land-dwelling animals preserved on the rock in which the fossil was found.
The discovery and re-evaluation of Trachelosaurus fischeri is another step in gaining better insight into the marine ecosystems at the beginning of the Triassic period. The researchers also emphasize that the history of fossils indicates the importance of historical museums and university collections in natural history research.
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