After making a splash in early 2025 with the identification of its 183-million-year-old fossilized skin, the plesiosaur fossil MH7 (Holzmaden specimen), uncovered in Germany, is making headlines again.
A new study published in PeerJ Life and Environment looks at how this plesiosaur fossil may offer clues to how this species evolved and expanded around Europe 180 million years ago.
“The Holzmaden specimen gives us an unprecedented look at Plesiopterys wildi in a more mature stage of development, allowing us to refine our understanding of this species and its place in plesiosaur evolution,” Miguel Marx, lead study author from Lund University, said in a press release. “It also suggests that distinct plesiosaur communities may have evolved in different regions of the European seas during the Early Jurassic.”
Plesiosaur Evolution During the Jurassic Period
According to the study, researchers have identified this specimen as Plesiopterys wildi, one of only two ever uncovered. This finding, according to the study, is instrumental in helping researchers understand how these creatures diversified during the Early Jurassic Period.
The fossil, which was uncovered from the Lower Jurassic Posidonia Shale in 1940, was remarkably well-preserved and nearly complete. Finding a plesiosaur fossil is rare compared to other fossilized marine reptiles from that time, like ichthyosaurs.
Read More: 183-Million-Year-Old Fossil Reveals That Plesiosaur Skin Was Smooth and Scaly
Studying Plesiosaur Evolution
From the fossil, the research team determined that this specimen was a subadult when it died. The other specimen of P. wildi known as SMNS 16812, was younger than MH7. A full adult fossil of this species has yet to be found.
However, researchers can now tell much more about the species, thanks to the find. With two specimens, researchers can see how they may have evolved away from related species within the European epicontinental marine basin. This information could prove that P. wildi is from a different taxon. These findings also lead researchers to believe that P. wildi was likely an endemic species to that area, meaning it was the only place they were found.
After a phylogenetic analysis, the researchers placed P. wildi as “an early-diverging plesiosauroid, closely related to Franconiasaurus brevispinus, suggesting a gradual evolutionary transition towards more derived cryptoclidids of the Late Jurassic,” according to a press release.
Cryptoclidids are a genus of plesiosaur reptiles that lived during the Jurassic Period.
A Pivotal Plesiosaur
Thanks to P. wildi and the MH7 fossil, researchers can now infer that the Jurassic Period was a pivotal time for plesiosaur evolution that laid the groundwork for more dominant plesiosaur species down the road.
“Our research reinforces that plesiosaurs were already evolving specialized adaptations and distinct regional lineages much earlier than we used to believe,” Sven Sachs, a co-author of the study, said in a press release. “This has important implications for understanding how marine reptiles responded to environmental changes in the Jurassic seas.”
With so much knowledge gained from one species, like what their skin was like to how they evolved, who knows what else researchers might gain from studying P. wildi.
Read More: This 444 Million-Year-Old Arthropod Was Fossilized Inside Out
Article Sources
Our writers at Discovermagazine.com use peer-reviewed studies and high-quality sources for our articles, and our editors review for scientific accuracy and editorial standards. Review the sources used below for this article:
PeerJ Life and Environment. A new specimen of Plesiopterys wildi reveals the diversification of cryptoclidian precursors and possible endemism within European Early Jurassic plesiosaur assemblages
The Paleobiology Database. Plesiopterys wildi O'Keefe 2004 (plesiosaur)
A graduate of UW-Whitewater, Monica Cull wrote for several organizations, including one that focused on bees and the natural world, before coming to Discover Magazine. Her current work also appears on her travel blog and Common State Magazine. Her love of science came from watching PBS shows as a kid with her mom and spending too much time binging Doctor Who.
