Schoenesmahl is an extinct genus of lizard from the Late Jurassic Painten Formation of Germany.[1] It contains only a single species, S. dyspepsia.[2]
| Schoenesmahl Temporal range: Late Jurassic,
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| 1903 illustration of the holotype by Franz Nopcsa | |
Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | Squamata |
| Family: | †Ardeosauridae |
| Genus: | †Schoenesmahl Conrad, 2018 |
| Species: | †S. dyspepsia
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| Binomial name | |
| †Schoenesmahl dyspepsia Conrad, 2018
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It is known only from specimen SNSB-BSPG AS I 563b, a single disarticulated specimen (consisting of an incomplete skeleton lacking nasals, vomers, palatines, postorbitals, quadrates, anterior presacral vertebrae, pectoral girdles, most of the radii and ulnae, manus, ilium, ischium, tarsals and the distal pedal phalanges form digits I, II, IV and V)[2] preserved in the stomach of the holotype specimen of the small theropod dinosaur Compsognathus longipes, which was discovered by Joseph Oberndorfer in Kelheim, Bavaria no later than 1859.[3] In 1866, Oberndorfer's collection, including the Schoenesmahl dyspepsia and Compsognathus longipes holotype specimens, was acquired by the paleontological state collection in Munich.[4] Othniel Charles Marsh, who examined the specimen in 1881, thought that this small skeleton in the Compsognathus belly was an embryo, but in 1903, Franz Nopcsa concluded that it was a lizard.[5] In 1978, John Ostrom identified the remains as belonging to a lizard of the genus Bavarisaurus,[6] which he concluded was a fast and agile runner owing to its long tail and limb proportions.
This specimen was long classified in the genus Bavarisaurus,[7] but a 2018 study found it to be a distinct taxon most closely related to Ardeosaurus and reclassified it as its own genus. The status of the specimen as prey for Compsognathus is reflected in the genus and species name, with Schoenesmahl deriving from schöne Mahl (German for "beautiful meal"), while dyspepia (Greek for "difficult digestion") refers to its undigested nature.[2][8]
The well-preserved nature of the specimen suggests that it was eaten by the Compsognathus shortly before the latter's own death and preservation. The disarticulated nature of the specimen suggests that as with some modern predatory birds, Compsognathus may have restrained and dismembered Schoenesmahl during consumption, possibly using its hands and teeth.[2]
References
edit- ^ Reisdorf, Achim G.; Wuttke, Michael (2012). "Re-evaluating Moodie's Opisthotonic-Posture Hypothesis in Fossil Vertebrates Part I: Reptiles—the taphonomy of the bipedal dinosaurs Compsognathus longipes and Juravenator starki from the Solnhofen Archipelago (Jurassic, Germany)". Palaeobiodiversity and Palaeoenvironments. 92 (1): 119–168. Bibcode:2012PdPe...92..119R. doi:10.1007/s12549-011-0068-y. ISSN 1867-1594.
- ^ a b c d Conrad, Jack L (2017-12-18). "A new lizard (Squamata) was the last meal of Compsognathus (Theropoda: Dinosauria) and is a holotype in a holotype". Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 183 (3): 584–634. doi:10.1093/zoolinnean/zlx055. ISSN 0024-4082.
- ^ Wagner, J. A. (1859). "Über einige im lithographischen Schiefer neu aufgefundene Schildkröten und Saurier". Gelehrte Anzeigen der Bayerischen Akademie der Wissenschaften. 49: 553.
- ^ Göhlich, Ursula B.; Tischlinger, Helmut; Chiappe, Luis M. (2006). "Juravenator starki (reptilia, theropoda), ein neuer Raubdinosaurier aus dem Oberjura der Südlichen Frankenalb (Süddeutschland)". Archaeopteryx: Jahreszeitschrift der Freunde des Jura-Museums in Eichstätt. 24: 1–26.
- ^ Nopcsa, Baron F. (1903). "Neues ueber Compsognathus". Neues Jahrbuch für Mineralogie, Geologie und Paläontologie. 16: 476–494.
- ^ Ostrom, J.H. (1978). "The osteology of Compsognathus longipes". Zitteliana. 4: 73–118.
- ^ Hoffstetter, R. (1953). Les sauriens anté-cretacées. - Bull. Mus. nat. Hist. natur., 25:345-352, 1 Abb.
- ^ Bolet, Arnau; Stubbs, Thomas L; Herrera-Flores, Jorge A; Benton, Michael J (2022-05-03). Zhu, Min; Perry, George H; Zhu, Min (eds.). "The Jurassic rise of squamates as supported by lepidosaur disparity and evolutionary rates". eLife. 11: e66511. doi:10.7554/eLife.66511. ISSN 2050-084X. PMC 9064307. PMID 35502582.