Gaël Spicher
@spichergael.bsky.social
110 followers 170 following 9 posts
PhD candidate in paleontology at the Jurassica Museum in Porrentruy and the University of Fribourg, Switzerland🇨🇭 working on fossil turtles 🐢 and ichthyosaurs. Marine reptile enthusiast
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Reposted by Gaël Spicher
feikosaur.bsky.social
Eurhinosaurus mistelgauensis is interesting because it is quite a bit younger than all other known Eurhinosaurus species. It gives us vital information of these ichthyosaurs close to the Middle Jurassic faunal turnover. Art: Andrey Atuchin, used with permission from Urwelt-Museum Oberfranken
Reposted by Gaël Spicher
sirjoscha.bsky.social
The study was conducted by @spichergael.bsky.social & colleagues (@feikosaur.bsky.social) & published today in @mfnberlin.bsky.social's Open access journal Fossil Record. Congrats to all authors! It's available here: fr.pensoft.net/article/1542...

Fossil & artwork to be exhibited at UMO in future.
Nearly five-meter-long slab of belemnite battleground with skeleton of Eurhinosaurus mistelgauensis – the inspiration for the beautiful artwork by Andrey Atuchin in my previous post. Specimen is from Mistelgau, excavated by and curated at Urwelt-Museum Oberfranken in Bayreuth, Germany
Reposted by Gaël Spicher
sirjoscha.bsky.social
News @ Urwelt-Museum Oberfranken (UMO) in Bayreuth: new ichthyosaur, Eurhinosaurus mistelgauensis, named today after UMO's prime excavation site, the Jurassic clay pit Mistelgau. @olorotitan.bsky.social beautifully reconstructed the to-be fossil on a belemnite battleground typical for the locality.
Freshly deceased Eurhinosaurus mistelgauensis on a Jurassic sea floor covered in Belemnite rostra (a "belemnite battleground"). Artwork by Andrey Atuchin.
spichergael.bsky.social
Paleoart by @olorotitan.bsky.social (with permission of the Urwelt-Museum Oberfranken).
The newly described and well-preserved fossils represent the youngest known occurrence of Eurhinosaurus.
spichergael.bsky.social
‼️ PAPER ALERT ‼️
We describe a new German ichthyosaur species: Eurhinosaurus mistelgauensis, from Upper Toarcian layers of Mistelgau (Bavaria). 🇩🇪
👉 Published in Fossil Record with @feikosaur.bsky.social , Jelle Heijne & Nicole Klein. Check the full article here: fr.pensoft.net/article/1542...
spichergael.bsky.social
Got to Lyon yesterday! Here to dive into some Late Jurassic turtles. 🐢time to dust off fossils that haven’t been touched since the 1800s!
spichergael.bsky.social
The JURASSICA museum is organizing a paleontological field school again this year! Come and join us! 🦖🐢⛏️ Learn more here: www.jurassica.ch/en/Practical...
spichergael.bsky.social
2/2 Then off to Pittsburgh to dive into the Carnegie Museum collections 🏛️ for more work on this stunning specimen!
spichergael.bsky.social
Spent the whole week working on a beautifully preserved Eurysternum wagleri. 🐢 First stop: Ann Arbor for CT-scanning —huge thanks to @friedmanlab.bsky.social for the warm welcome, taking the time to scan the specimen, and inviting me to give a short talk on my PhD research #FossilFriday
spichergael.bsky.social
Fossil Friday is the perfect time to introduce the newest member of the JURASSICA Museum family! 🦖
#FossilFriday #Jurassic
spichergael.bsky.social
Just submitted a huge manuscript (nearly 30,000 words!) with a fantastic team! It’s a detailed descriptive study of a well-known Jurassic ichthyosaur, a deep dive into its anatomy. Can’t wait to share it with you all soon! 🤩

#paleontology #ichthyosaur
Reposted by Gaël Spicher
spichergael.bsky.social
Hi Bluesky!
I’am doing a PhD in paleontology at the Jurassica Museum and University of Fribourg. My project focuses on the diversity of thalassochelydian turtles 🐢 (such as this skull of Solnhofia brachyrhyncha). I'm also working on other fossil turtles and marine reptiles such as ichthyosaurs.