Will plesiosaurs be in the new WWD? :)

Further work on this will be elucidated by @dinosven.bsky.social and @danielmadzia.bsky.social :) stay tuned!

Between the Early Jurassic plesiosaur fauna of Germany and England, the species are (thus far) completely distinct, which may reflect regional endemism.

This new specimen (MH 7) is referred to Plesiopterys wildi, known only from the Southwestern German Basin of the European Epicontinental Sea.

Another interesting aspect of this study is that of possible regional endemism for Early Jurassic plesiosaur fauna in Europe.

Thus, by the Early Jurassic, when plesiosaurs had started their radiation, the forerunners for 'derived' plesiosaurians were already evolving.

Our phylogenetic analyses demonstrate that Plesiopterys wildi was relatively derived and closely related to cryptoclidians (which radiated and dominated the Late Jurassic).

In this study, we provide an updated diagnosis for this species, differentiating it from other Early Jurassic plesiosaurians.

The exquisitely preserved skeleton is described and assigned as a sub-adult Plesiopterys wildi, which was named by O'Keefe (2004).

The osteology and taxonomy of a newly prepared plesiosaur (MH 7), that included soft tissues, is now published in PeerJ :) on my birthday!