Apolithabatis

{{Short description|Extinct genus of ray fishes}} {{Speciesbox | fossil_range = Late Jurassic, {{fossilrange|Kimmeridgian|Kimmeridgian|late Kimmeridgian}} | image = Apolithabatis (holotype).png | image_caption = Holotype specimen | display_parents = 4 | genus = Apolithabatis | parent_authority = Türtscher et al., 2025 | species = seioma | authority = Türtscher et al., 2025 }}

'''''Apolithabatis''''' (meaning "fossil ray") is an extinct genus of asterodermid rays from the Late Jurassic (Kimmeridgian age) Torleite Formation (Solnhofen Archipelago) of Germany. The genus contains a single species, '''''A. seioma''''', known from a single complete, well-preserved specimen.

== Discovery and naming == The ''Apolithabatis'' holotype specimen, DMA-JP-2010/007, was discovered in a Rygol Company limestone quarry representing outcrops of the Torleite Formation (Arnstorf Member) near Painten in Lower Bavaria, South Germany. The fossil is a holomorphic specimen, meaning that it comprises a complete, articulated animal.<ref name="Protohimantura">{{Cite journal |last1=Marramà |first1=Giuseppe |last2=Klug |first2=Stefanie |last3=de Vos |first3=John |last4=Kriwet |first4=Jürgen |date=2018-12-07 |title=Anatomy, relationships and palaeobiogeographic implications of the first Neogene holomorphic stingray (Myliobatiformes: Dasyatidae) from the early Miocene of Sulawesi, Indonesia, SE Asia |journal=Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society |volume=184 |issue=4 |pages=1142–1168 |doi=10.1093/zoolinnean/zly020 |issn=0024-4082|doi-access=free |hdl=2318/1766104 |hdl-access=free }}</ref> Based on the absence of claspers, it can be identified as a female individual.<ref name="Apolithabatis">{{Cite journal |last1=Türtscher |first1=Julia |last2=Jambura |first2=Patrick L. |last3=Spindler |first3=Frederik |last4=Kriwet |first4=Jürgen |date=2025-01-23 |title=Insights into stem Batomorphii: A new holomorphic ray (Chondrichthyes, Elasmobranchii) from the upper Jurassic of Germany |journal=PLOS One |language=en |volume=20 |issue=1 |article-number=e0310174 |doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0310174 |issn=1932-6203 |pmc=11756912 |pmid=39847754 |doi-access=free|bibcode=2025PLoSO..2010174T }}</ref>

In 2025, Türtscher et al. described ''Apolithabatis seioma'' as a new genus and species of rays in the extinct family Spathobatidae (Asterodermidae) based on these fossil remains. The generic name, ''Apolithabatis'', combines the Greek words απολίθωμα (''apolíthoma''), meaning "fossil", and βατίς (''batís''), meaning "ray" or "skate". The specific name, ''seioma'', is derived from the Greek word σείω (''seío̱'')—in turn coming from σεισμός (''seismós''), meaning "shake"—referencing the use of explosives to slabs of rock from the outcrop, one of which contained the holotype.<ref name="Apolithabatis"/>

== Description == The general bauplan of ''Apolithabatis'' is quite similar to extant guitarfish. It is fairly large for a ray, at {{convert|120|cm|in}} in length. ''Apolithabatis'' is characterized by its pointed snout, large, heart-shaped disc, and long tail. It has two similarly-sized dorsal fins located posterior to the pelvic fin radials.<ref name="Apolithabatis"/>

{{gallery |title=Close-up photographs of the holotype under normal (left) and UV (right) light |align=center |Apolithabatis (holotype, head).png|Head region |Apolithabatis (holotype, pectoral fin).png|Pectoral fin |Apolithabatis (holotype, pelvic region).png|Pelvic region }}

== Classification == [[File:Apolithabatis (life restoration).png|thumb|Life restoration]] In their phylogenetic analyses, Türtscher et al. (2025) consistently recovered ''Apolithabatis'' as the sister taxon to ''Aellopobatis'', another Solnhofen ray. They also found support for the assignment of these taxa to a basal clade of other Jurassic European batomorphs outside of the crown group, which they named Apolithabatiformes. Their results are displayed in the cladogram below:<ref name="Apolithabatis"/>

{{clade |{{clade |label1={{extinct}}Apolithabatiformes |sublabel1=Spathobatidae<br>{{small|(Asterodermidae)}} |1={{clade |1=''Asterodermus'' |2=''Belemnobatis'' |3=''Kimmerobatis'' |4=''Spathobatis'' |5={{clade |1=''Aellopobatis'' |2='''''Apolithabatis''''' }} }} |3={{clade |1=Rhinopristiformes <div style="{{MirrorH}}">70px</div> |2={{clade |1=Rajiformes <div style="{{MirrorH}}">60px</div> |2={{clade |1=Torpediniformes 60px |2=Myliobatiformes <div style="{{MirrorH}}">60px</div> }} }} }} }}|label1=Batomorphi}}

== References == {{Reflist}}

Category:Asterodermidae Category:Jurassic cartilaginous fish Category:Jurassic fish of Europe Category:Monotypic prehistoric cartilaginous fish genera Category:Fossil taxa described in 2025 Category:Solnhofen fauna