A redescription of Trachelosaurus fischeri from Triassic of Germany

Trachelosaurus, described over 100 years ago, turned out to be not a chimera, as previously thought, but a water-dwelling reptile with an extremely long spine (nearly 50 presacral vertebrae).

The Bernburg quarry (Saxony-Anhalt, Germany) is known from amphibian skulls found there. A single reptile skeleton excavated there was named Trachelosaurus fischeri over 100 years ago. For many years the specimen was regarded as intermixed remains of several different animals. New research shows that all of these bones come from a single individual – Trachelosaurus was simply an animal with a very long backbone, including at least 48 presacral vertebrae (twice more than in a human!). Trachelosaurus is the oldest and the only European member of the Trachelosauridae – Middle Triassic aquatic reptiles.

Photo: Liliana Reinöhl