Solnhofia parsonsi was a turtle that lived in the tropical seas covering what is now Europe during the Late Jurassic, about 150-148 million years ago.
Around 20cm long (~8″), it had a long pointed beak and a large triangular head that would have supported powerful jaw muscles, which it may have used to crush hard-shelled invertebrate prey.
Its relatively short limbs are more similar to those of freshwater turtles than the long flippers of oceanic-swimming sea turtles, suggesting Solnhofia was adapted to shallow coastal waters and lagoons rather than the open sea.
Some specimens have considerably shorter tails than others, which may represent the same sort of sexual dimorphism as seen in modern sea turtles – with the longer-tailed individuals being males, and the shorter-tailed ones females.
One fossil’s carapace also shows predation tooth marks from a marine crocodilian similar to Dakosaurus.
References:
- Augustin, Felix J., et al. “A new specimen of Solnhofia parsonsi from the Upper Jurassic (Kimmeridgian) Plattenkalk deposits of Painten (Bavaria, Germany) and comments on the relationship between limb taphonomy and habitat ecology in fossil turtles.” PLoS ONE 18.7 (2023): e0287936. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0287936
- Joyce, Walter G. “The first complete skeleton of Solnhofia parsonsi (Cryptodira, Eurysternidae) from the Upper Jurassic of Germany and its taxonomic implications.” Journal of Paleontology 74.4 (2000): 684-700. https://doi.org/10.1666/0022-3360(2000)0742.0.CO;2
- Universitaet Tübingen. “Perfectly preserved turtle fossil gives clues to habitat 150 million years ago.” Phys.org, 26 Jul. 2023, https://phys.org/news/2023-07-turtle-fossil-clues-habitat-million.html
- Wikipedia contributors. “Solnhofia” Wikipedia, 02 Oct. 2025, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solnhofia