Schoenesmahl

Schoenesmahl Temporal range: Ma PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N ↓
1903 illustration of the holotype by Franz Nopcsa
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Family:	†Ardeosauridae
Genus:	†Schoenesmahl Conrad, 2018
Species:	†S. dyspepsia
Binomial name
†Schoenesmahl dyspepsia Conrad, 2018

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]

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)

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