A cautionary tail: Cyrtura temnospondyla Jaekel, 1904, an enigmatic vertebrate specimen from the Late Jurassic Solnhofen Limestone

Abstract

The enigmatic vertebrate taxon Cyrtura temnospondyla is reassessed following the location and reuniting of both counterparts. The specimen, comprising a series of caudal vertebrae from the Tithonian Solnhofen Limestone, has variously been interpreted as derived either from a temnospondyl amphibian, or a turtle, or to be indeterminate. The redescription of this caudal series reveals that the vertebrae have a single centrum, in contrast to previous descriptions. This specimen is here interpreted to be the tail of a turtle more derived than Proganochelys and Meiolania, but is otherwise indeterminate and cannot be associated with any of the diagnosed taxa from the Solnhofen Limestone. C. temnospondyla lacks any diagnostic character and must therefore be considered a nomen dubium.