Gaël Spicher
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spichergael.bsky.social
Gaël Spicher
@spichergael.bsky.social
PhD candidate in paleontology at the Jurassica Museum in Porrentruy and the University of Fribourg, Switzerland🇨🇭 working on fossil turtles 🐢 and ichthyosaurs. Marine reptile enthusiast
Reposted by Gaël Spicher
A new Upper Franconian ichthyosaur species has been discovered from Mistelgau. Learn all about it on the @pensoft.net blog!

🔗 blog.pensoft.net/2025/09/26/n...

@spichergael.bsky.social @feikosaur.bsky.social @mfnberlin.bsky.social

Artwork: @olorotitan.bsky.social
New Jurassic ichthyosaur species discovered in Mistelgau
Ichthyosaurs were marine reptiles, with dolphin-like bodies, that lived during the time of the dinosaurs.
blog.pensoft.net
September 26, 2025 at 6:52 AM
Reposted by Gaël Spicher
Eurhinosaurus mistelgauensis is interesting because it is quite a bit younger than all other known Eurhinosaurus species. It gives us vital information of these ichthyosaurs close to the Middle Jurassic faunal turnover. Art: Andrey Atuchin, used with permission from Urwelt-Museum Oberfranken
September 25, 2025 at 2:52 PM
Reposted by Gaël Spicher
A new ichthyosaur species is discovered! Welcome Eurhinosaurus mistelgauensis! fr.pensoft.net/article/1542...
Huge congratulations to @spichergael.bsky.social for leading this project.
A new Eurhinosaurus (Ichthyosauria) species from the Lower Jurassic (Toarcian) of Mistelgau (Bavaria, Southern Germany)
Eurhinosaurus is a European Lower Jurassic longirostrine ichthyosaur, characterized by its remarkable overbite. Despite the long history of the genus, the taxonomy of Eurhinosaurus is still under deba...
fr.pensoft.net
September 25, 2025 at 2:52 PM
Reposted by Gaël Spicher
The study was conducted by @spichergael.bsky.social & colleagues (@feikosaur.bsky.social) & published today in @mfnberlin.bsky.social's Open access journal Fossil Record. Congrats to all authors! It's available here: fr.pensoft.net/article/1542...

Fossil & artwork to be exhibited at UMO in future.
September 25, 2025 at 2:36 PM
Reposted by Gaël Spicher
News @ Urwelt-Museum Oberfranken (UMO) in Bayreuth: new ichthyosaur, Eurhinosaurus mistelgauensis, named today after UMO's prime excavation site, the Jurassic clay pit Mistelgau. @olorotitan.bsky.social beautifully reconstructed the to-be fossil on a belemnite battleground typical for the locality.
September 25, 2025 at 2:36 PM
‼️ PAPER ALERT ‼️
We describe a new German ichthyosaur species: Eurhinosaurus mistelgauensis, from Upper Toarcian layers of Mistelgau (Bavaria). 🇩🇪
👉 Published in Fossil Record with @feikosaur.bsky.social , Jelle Heijne & Nicole Klein. Check the full article here: fr.pensoft.net/article/1542...
September 25, 2025 at 2:06 PM
Got to Lyon yesterday! Here to dive into some Late Jurassic turtles. 🐢time to dust off fossils that haven’t been touched since the 1800s!
September 2, 2025 at 6:36 AM
The JURASSICA museum is organizing a paleontological field school again this year! Come and join us! 🦖🐢⛏️ Learn more here: www.jurassica.ch/en/Practical...
May 16, 2025 at 4:19 PM
Spent the whole week working on a beautifully preserved Eurysternum wagleri. 🐢 First stop: Ann Arbor for CT-scanning —huge thanks to @friedmanlab.bsky.social for the warm welcome, taking the time to scan the specimen, and inviting me to give a short talk on my PhD research #FossilFriday
April 11, 2025 at 1:29 PM
Fossil Friday is the perfect time to introduce the newest member of the JURASSICA Museum family! 🦖
#FossilFriday #Jurassic
December 6, 2024 at 12:20 PM
Just submitted a huge manuscript (nearly 30,000 words!) with a fantastic team! It’s a detailed descriptive study of a well-known Jurassic ichthyosaur, a deep dive into its anatomy. Can’t wait to share it with you all soon! 🤩

#paleontology #ichthyosaur
November 19, 2024 at 12:25 PM
Reposted by Gaël Spicher
My PhD student Guilherme Hermanson & I have a new paper out today in Ecology & Evolution! 🐢🤩

We think the morphologically conservative body plan of turtles can in part be explained by allometric constraints imposed by the shell. Thread 👇 for some highlights

onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
Shell Constraints on Evolutionary Body Size–Limb Size Allometry Can Explain Morphological Conservatism in the Turtle Body Plan
Turtle body size and limb size scale nearly isometrically along the group's evolution, although major deviations are only seen in highly specialized ecological or morphological groups. The evolution ...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com
November 13, 2024 at 1:34 PM
Hi Bluesky!
I’am doing a PhD in paleontology at the Jurassica Museum and University of Fribourg. My project focuses on the diversity of thalassochelydian turtles 🐢 (such as this skull of Solnhofia brachyrhyncha). I'm also working on other fossil turtles and marine reptiles such as ichthyosaurs.
October 22, 2024 at 4:50 AM