Hunted hunters – prey of Aspidorhynchus (Actinopterygii) within isolated gastrointestinal tracts from the late Jurassic of the Solnhofen Archipelago

Members of the Aspidorhynchidae, an extinct family of ray-finned fish (Actinopterygii) are amongst the most common larger predatory fish in the Late-Jurassic Solnhofen Archipelago. Aspidorhynchids from these localities have yielded specimens with prey fish stuck in their mouths and stomachs. We report here on isolated skulls and, in one case, a body fragment of Aspidorhynchus with attached gastrointestinal tract, whereas all other parts of the body of these specimens are missing. These extraordinary fossils are probably feeding-remains left over by larger predators, apparently unique in the fossil record and even for the Solnhofen Archipelago something special that is hardly known. As proof that these diffuse appendices to the cranium are gastrointestinal tracts, we show here for the first time prey fish and, in one case, a crustacean visible in some of these gastrointestinal tracts.