Blezingeria ichthyospondyla (E. Fraas, 1896 )

Sues, Hans-Dieter & Schoch, Rainer R., 2025, Synopsis of the Triassic reptiles from Germany, Fossil Record 28 (2), pp. 411-483 : 411-483

Blezingeria ichthyospondyla (E. Fraas, 1896)

Holotype.

GPIT-PV -34599 . Disarticulated cervical and dorsal centra, figured by F. Huene (1951: fig. 1).

Type locality.

Heldenmühle quarry, Crailsheim, Baden-Württemberg, Germany.

Type horizon.

Grenzbonebed, basal unit of Erfurt Formation (Lower Keuper). Age: Middle Triassic (Ladinian: Longobardian).

Referred material.

Includes MHI 1113 a-c, dorsal vertebrae from Crailsheim-Neidenfels, Baden-Württemberg, and SMNS 19136 , set of 53 vertebral centra from type locality.

Diagnosis.

Distinguished by the following combination of features: dorsal vertebral centra short anteroposteriorly, higher than long, amphicoelous and lacking notochordal pits; neural spines greatly elongated, narrow transversely, and slender; facets for rib articulation extending on both centra and neural arches ( Müller 2002; Fig. 9 C, D ). A new diagnosis must await a comprehensive examination of all specimens.

Comments.

E. Fraas (1896) briefly described distinctive vertebrae, which he tentatively attributed to a nothosaur and named Nothosaurus ichthyospondylus . F. Huene (1951) reviewed this material as well as additional postcranial bones recovered since the original description. Based on the form of the vertebral centra, he assigned them to what he considered a new genus of cymbospondylid ichthyosaur, Blezingeria . Schoch and Wild (1999) first suggested thalattosaurian affinities for Blezingeria ichthyospondyla . Müller (2002) re-examined the available material, noting that its skeletal remains were particularly common in the Grenzbonebed of the Lower Keuper Subgroup. He described the structure of the vertebrae, primarily dorsals, and argued that other referred bones (including purported cranial elements) could either not be confidently associated with the vertebrae or represented misidentified bones of sauropterygians or temnospondyls. Müller noted that the vertebrae differed from those of ichthyopterygians but could not confirm thalattosaurian affinities. The neural arches and spines closely resemble those of Thalattosaurus alexandrae from the Upper Triassic (Carnian) Hosselkus Limestone of California ( Nicholls 1999). Diedrich (2015) assigned additional postcranial bones to B. ichthyospondyla ( MHI 1113 e, MHI 1345 ), but these referrals remain to be confirmed by more complete specimens.

References.

E. Fraas (1896), F. Huene (1951), Schoch and Wild (1999), Müller (2002), Diedrich (2015).

Figures

Figure 9. Reptiles from the Muschelkalk Group. A. Pistosaurid eosauropterygian Pistosaurus longaevus (UMO BT 000015.00), incomplete cranium in oblique lateral view. Scale bar: 2 cm. Photograph courtesy of S. Evers (UMO BT). B. Mixosaurid ichthyosaurian Phalarodon atavus (MB. R. 2353), incomplete cranium in lateral view. Scale bar: 2 cm. Courtesy of N. Fröbisch. C, D. Blezingeria ichthyospondyla (SMNS 81198), dorsal vertebra in (C) anterior and (D) posterior view. Scale bar: 2 cm.