Say hello to the ‘Chuchichäschtli’ squid from the Triassic period

The fossils found are about 242 million years old. Swiss Journal of Palaeontology

Researchers from Zurich have discovered fossils of a previously unknown species of squid in Ticino – and given them a Swiss-German moniker.

The fossils had been stored in a cabinet at the University of Zurich (UZH) for several decades. It was only when the collection was re-examined that the significance of the cephalopod species was recognised.

“At first, we thought about naming the species after a colleague,” Christian Klug from the university’s Palaeontological Institute told the Keystone-SDA news agency. “But the fossil is so unsightly that we didn’t want to do that to anyone.” Instead, they named the cephalopod “Ticinoteuthis chuchichaeschtli“.

The Swiss German word “Chuchichäschtli” is a well-known shibboleth translating to small kitchen cupboard (standard German = Küchenschränkchen).

It is not unusual to come across a new species in a collection, said Klug. “There are plenty of new species waiting in drawers.” He added: “The species living today only make up around one per cent of all the species that have ever lived”. Palaeontologists – i.e. researchers who study fossils – are few and far between. You can read the original article in the Swiss Journal of Palaeontology:

Orthoceratoid and coleoid cephalopods from the Middle Triassic of Switzerland with an updated taxonomic framework for Triassic OrthoceratoideaExternal link