Saturday 20 March 2021

CAP OF THE HEVE, FRANCE

A lovely Torquirhynchia inconstans, brachiopod from the sommet des Bancs de plomb, Kimméridgien inférieur, Cap of the Hève in northwestern France.

The area is home to many beautiful marine fossils and Yves Lepage explored them this past month, May 2021 — kindly sharing some of his photos with me, and then me with all of you.

It is a beach site with gorgeous cliff faces and small to mid-sized boulders on the beach. Strolling between the Bout du Monde and Clos des Ronces with Jean-Jacques. Beautiful light and some finds. Yves Lepage

A pterosaur specimen, consisting of the associated anterior portions of upper and lower jaws, is reported from the upper Kimmeridgian Argiles d'Octeville, in the cliffs of the Cap de la Hève, near Le Havre in Normandy, northwestern France. It is described as a new taxon, Normannognathus wellnhoferi, and referred to the Germanodactylidae. 

Normannognathus wellnhoferi is distinguished by the association of jaws which bear teeth up to their anterior tip and a tall sagittal crest, formed by the premaxillae, which begins anterior to the nasopreorbital fenestra, has a concave anterior edge and is much higher than the maxilla at that level. 

The Dsungaripterus-like crest and the slightly upturned upper jaw support the idea of a close relationship between the Germanodactylidae and Dsungaripteridae.

Reference:

https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/geological-magazine/article/abs/new-pterodactyloid-pterosaur-from-the-kimmeridgian-of-the-cap-de-la-heve-normandy-france/71D18DAB996FA40378D4979403B70AF9