A rediscovered Lower Jurassic ichthyosaur skeleton possibly from the Strawberry Bank Lagerstätte, Somerset, UK

Alexander Srdic, Susan Beardmore, Dean R. Lomax

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Abstract

An almost complete ichthyosaur from the historically significant collection of fossils amassed by Somerset geologist, Charles Moore, is described. Available information suggests that it was collected from the Lower Lias of Somerset, UK. However, inspection of the surrounding matrix, which seems to be a nodule, indicates that the specimen may instead hail from the Upper Lias (Toarcian) Strawberry Bank Lagerstätte of Ilminster, Somerset. The specimen had previously been identified as Leptonectes tenuirostris. Herein, further analysis of the skull and forefin, reveals closer affinities to Stenopterygius triscissus, to which the specimen is tentatively assigned. Therefore, the specimen represents one of the most complete ichthyosaurs collected from the Strawberry Bank Lagerstätte.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1-9
JournalHistorical Biology
Early online date10 Sept 2019
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2019

Keywords

  • Ichthyosauria
  • Stenopterygius
  • Leptonectes
  • Charles Moore
  • CT-scan
  • Strawberry Bank

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  • ICAL: Interdisciplinary Centre for Ancient Life

    Garwood, R. (PI), Wogelius, R. (PI), Sansom, R. (CoI), Buckley, M. (CoI), Chamberlain, A. (CoI), Manning, P. (CoI), Egerton, V. (CoI), Sellers, W. (CoI), Nudds, J. (CoI), Bulot, L. G. (CoI), Brocklehurst, R. (PGR student), Brassey, C. A. (CoI), Keating, J. (CoI), La Porta, A. (CoI), Brocklehurst, R. (PGR student), Callender-Crowe, L. (PGR student), Wallace, E. (PGR student), Chester, J. (PGR student), Davenport, J. (PGR student), Tuley, K. (PGR student), Lomax, D. (Researcher), Reeves, J. (PGR student), Smart, C. (PGR student), Ferro, C. (PGR student), Karoullas, C. (PGR student), Heath, J. (PGR student), Dickson, A. (PGR student), Austin Sydes, L. (PGR student), McLean, C. (PGR student), Harvey, V. (PGR student) & Jones, K. (PI)

    Project: Research

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