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Saurierfund im Lias epsilon von Grimmen, Kreis Nordvorpommern (Fundbericht)
Abstract
Es werden die Fundumstände beim Saurierfund im Lias epsilon von Grimmen, Nordvorpommern, Deutschland vorgestellt, Fotos des Fundes gezeigt und die mit der in Zusammenhang mit der Fundstelle publizierte Literatur aufgelistet.
... Of the few reptile remains from Grimmen, only the skull of Emausaurus ernsti HAUBOLD, 1990 (Ornithischia) was thoroughly studied. Crocodilian and ichthyosaurian remains were figured by ZESSIN (1995ZESSIN ( , 1998ZESSIN ( , 2001, but not described in any detail. A few more isolated bones and vertebrae are scattered over a number of private collections. ...
An incomplete skull of the lower Toarcian ichthyosaurStenopterygius cf.quadriscissus is described from the lower Toarcian of Dobbertin (Mecklenburg, northeastern Germany). It represents both the northeasternmost occurrence of this ichthyosaur genus and the first diagnostic specimen from East Germany. It therefore extends the palaeobiogeographic range ofStenopterygius considerably and demonstrates that this ichthyosaur also inhabited the Germanic Basin east of the Rhenish Massif by Early Jurassic times. A palaeobiogeographical pattern is evident within the genusStenopterygius, with the ubiquitous speciesS. longifrons andS. hauffianus on one hand, andS. megalorhinus andS. quadriscissus on the other hand, which appear not to have ranged northwest of the London-Brabant Massif. It is suggested that, whereas the Rhenish Massif was not an effective barrier for dispersal of ichthyosaurs in Western Europe during early Toarcian times, the London-Brabant Massif played a rather significant role, as is also shown by the fossil record of other marine reptile groups. A provincialism of early Toarcian marine reptiles is suggested for Western Europe, with a northwestern province which contains the British occurrences, an intermediate, Subgermanic province in France and the Benelux countries, and a southeastern province in the Germanic Basin. The British and Germanic provinces are each characterized by a typical assemblage of ichthyosaurs, plesiosaurs, and marine crocodiles, wheres the intermediate Subgermanic region shows an intermingling of faunal elements.
The marine lower Toarcian (Early Jurassic) formations outcropping in Europe are widely known to have produced diverse faunas of secondarily marine reptiles, especially coming from black bituminous shales and marlstones of Western Europe. Conversely, little attention has been paid to marine reptile material recovered from time-equivalent beds of North-Eastern Germany due to the scarcity of productive localities. Here, a previously undescribed marine reptile assemblage comprising ichthyosaur, plesiosaur and thalattosuchian crocodyliform remains from the marine marginal lower Toarcian (the Harpoceras falciferum ammonite Zone) "Green Series" of North-Eastern Germany is reported, complementing previous records of these groups from Northern Germany with an early Toarcian age. Although fragmentary and largely indeterminate, this material is significant in indicating the presence of a probable new and unnamed ichthyosaur taxon. Moreover, the marine reptile material described herein is significant because it includes the first reliable report of both plesiosaurs and thalattosuchian crocodyliforms from the lower Toarcian of North-Eastern Germany, confirming their presence in this region during Toarcian times.
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