Perfectly preserved fossil of the Solnhofia parsonsi turtle, approx. 150 million years old.
A perfectly preserved turtle fossil from Lower Bavaria yields important clues about both the species and the habitat that existed in southern Germany 150 million years ago. The fossil is the best-preserved specimen of Solnhofia parsonsi found to date. Its forelimbs and hind limbs are comparatively short, suggesting that the turtle lived near the coast. This in contrast with today’s sea turtles, which have elongated flippers and live in the open sea.
"No Solnhofia individual with such completely preserved extremities has ever been described before," says Felix Augustin of the Biogeology working group at the University of Tübingen. The head and carapace of Solnhofia parsonsi are also clearly preserved. ...
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