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Archosauromorpha
Archosauromorpha ( Greek for "ruling lizard forms") is a clade of diapsid reptiles containing all reptiles more closely related to archosaurs (such as crocodilians and dinosaurs, including birds) rather than lepidosaurs (such as tuataras, lizards, and snakes). Archosauromorphs first appeared during the late Middle Permian or Late Permian, though they became much more common and diverse during the Triassic period. Although Archosauromorpha was first named in 1946, its membership did not become well-established until the 1980s. Currently Archosauromorpha encompasses four main groups of reptiles: the stocky, herbivorous allokotosaurs and rhynchosaurs, the hugely diverse Archosauriformes, and a polyphyletic grouping of various long-necked reptiles including '' Protorosaurus'', tanystropheids, and '' Prolacerta''. Other groups including pantestudines ( turtles and their extinct relatives) and the semiaquatic choristoderes have also been placed in Archosauromorpha by some a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Archosaur
Archosauria () is a clade of diapsids, with birds and crocodilians as the only living representatives. Archosaurs are broadly classified as reptiles, in the cladistic sense of the term which includes birds. Extinct archosaurs include non-avian dinosaurs, pterosaurs, and extinct relatives of crocodilians. Modern paleontologists define Archosauria as a crown group that includes the most recent common ancestor of living birds and crocodilians, and all of its descendants. The base of Archosauria splits into two clades: Pseudosuchia, which includes crocodilians and their extinct relatives, and Avemetatarsalia, which includes birds and their extinct relatives (such as non-avian dinosaurs and pterosaurs). Older definitions of the group Archosauria rely on shared morphological characteristics, such as an antorbital fenestra in the skull, serrated teeth, and an upright stance. Some extinct reptiles, such as proterosuchids and euparkeriids, possessed these features yet orig ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Reptile
Reptiles, as most commonly defined are the animals in the class Reptilia ( ), a paraphyletic grouping comprising all sauropsids except birds. Living reptiles comprise turtles, crocodilians, squamates (lizards and snakes) and rhynchocephalians ( tuatara). As of March 2022, the Reptile Database includes about 11,700 species. In the traditional Linnaean classification system, birds are considered a separate class to reptiles. However, crocodilians are more closely related to birds than they are to other living reptiles, and so modern cladistic classification systems include birds within Reptilia, redefining the term as a clade. Other cladistic definitions abandon the term reptile altogether in favor of the clade Sauropsida, which refers to all amniotes more closely related to modern reptiles than to mammals. The study of the traditional reptile orders, historically combined with that of modern amphibians, is called herpetology. The earliest known proto-reptiles originated ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tanystropheus Longobardicus
''Tanystropheus'' (Greek ~ 'long' + 'hinged') is an extinct archosauromorph reptile from the Middle and Late Triassic epochs. It is recognisable by its extremely elongated neck, which measured long—longer than its body and tail combined. The neck was composed of 12–13 extremely elongated vertebrae. With its very long but relatively stiff neck, ''Tanystropheus'' has been often proposed and reconstructed as an aquatic or semi-aquatic reptile, a theory supported by the fact that the creature is most commonly found in semi-aquatic fossil sites wherein known terrestrial reptile remains are scarce. Fossils have been found in Europe. Complete skeletons of small individuals are common in the Besano Formation at Monte San Giorgio in Italy and Switzerland; other fossils have been found in the Middle East and China, dating from the Middle Triassic to the early part of the Late Triassic (Anisian, Ladinian, and Carnian stages).Dal Sasso, C. and Brillante, G. (2005). ''Dinosaurs of Italy ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Protorosauria
Protorosauria is an extinct polyphyletic group of archosauromorph reptiles from the latest Middle Permian (Capitanian stage) to the end of the Late Triassic (Rhaetian stage) of Asia, Europe and North America. It was named by the English anatomist and paleontologist Thomas Henry Huxley in 1871 as an order, originally to solely contain '' Protorosaurus''. Other names which were once considered equivalent to Protorosauria include Prolacertiformes and Prolacertilia. Protorosaurs are distinguished by their long necks formed by elongated cervical vertebrae, which have ribs that extend backward to the vertebrae behind them. Protorosaurs also have a gap between the quadrate bones and the jugal bones in the back of the skull near the jaw joint, making their skulls resemble those of lizards. While previously thought to be monophyletic, the group is now though to consist of various groups of basal archosauromorph reptiles that lie outside Crocopoda. Classification Protorosauria was cons ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Aenigmastropheus
''Aenigmastropheus'' is an extinct genus of early archosauromorph reptiles known from the middle Late Permian Usili Formation of Songea District, southern Tanzania. It contains a single species, ''Aenigmastropheus parringtoni'', known solely from UMZC T836, a partial postcranial skeleton of a mature individual. It was collected in 1933, and first described in 1956, as a "problematic reptile" due to its unique morphology. Therefore, a binomial name was erected for this specimen in 2014. ''Aenigmastropheus'' was probably fully terrestrial. Discovery Fossils of ''Aenigmastropheus'' were first described by the British paleontologist Dr. Francis Rex Parrington in 1956, in an article titled as "A problematic reptile from the Upper Permian". Parrington reported collecting these remains in the Ruhuhu Valley in the Songea District of southern Tanzania in 1933, and considered them to come from a single individual. This specimen, UMZC T836, in currently housed at the University Museum ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Choristodera
Choristodera (from the Greek χωριστός ''chōristos'' + δέρη ''dérē'', 'separated neck') is an extinct order of semiaquatic diapsid reptiles that ranged from the Middle Jurassic, or possibly Triassic, to the late Miocene (168 to 11.6 million years ago). Choristoderes are morphologically diverse, with the best known members being the crocodile-like neochoristoderes such as '' Champsosaurus''. Other choristoderans had lizard-like or long necked morphologies. Choristoderes appear to have been confined to the Northern Hemisphere, having been found in North America, Asia, and Europe, and possibly also North Africa. Choristoderes are generally thought to be derived neodiapsids that are close relatives or members of Sauria. History of Discovery Choristodera was erected in 1876, originally as a suborder of Rhynchocephalia by Edward Drinker Cope to contain '' Champsosaurus,'' which was described from Late Cretaceous strata of Montana by Cope in the same paper. A yea ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Allokotosauria
Allokotosauria is a clade of early archosauromorph reptiles from the Middle to Late Triassic known from Asia, Africa, North America and Europe. Allokotosauria was first described and named when a new monophyletic grouping of specialized herbivorous archosauromorphs was recovered by Sterling J. Nesbitt, John J. Flynn, Adam C. Pritchard, J. Michael Parrish, Lovasoa Ranivoharimanana and André R. Wyss in 2015. The name Allokotosauria is derived from Greek meaning "strange reptiles" in reference to unexpected grouping of early archosauromorph with a high disparity of features typically associated with herbivory. History Nesbitt ''et al.'' (2015) defined the group as a stem-based taxon containing '' Azendohsaurus madagaskarensis'' and ''Trilophosaurus buettneri'' and all taxa more closely related to them than to '' Tanystropheus longobardicus'', '' Proterosuchus fergusi'', '' Protorosaurus speneri'' or '' Rhynchosaurus articeps''. Therefore, Allokotosauria includes the famili ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Archosauriformes
Archosauriformes ( Greek for 'ruling lizards', and Latin for 'form') is a clade of diapsid reptiles that developed from archosauromorph ancestors some time in the Latest Permian (roughly 252 million years ago). It was defined by Jacques Gauthier (1994) as the clade stemming from the last common ancestor of Proterosuchidae and Archosauria (the group that contains crocodiles, pterosaurs and dinosaurs ncluding birds; Phil Senter">bird">ncluding_bird<_a>s.html" ;"title="bird.html" ;"title="ncluding bird">ncluding birds">bird.html" ;"title="ncluding bird">ncluding birds; Phil Senter (2005) defined it as the most exclusive clade containing ''Proterosuchus'' and Archosauria. These reptiles, which include members of the family Proterosuchidae and more advanced forms, were originally superficially crocodile-like animals with sprawling gaits and long snouts. Unlike the bulk of their therapsid contemporaries, the proterosuchids survived the catastrophe at the end o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rhynchosauria
Rhynchosaurs are a group of extinct herbivorous Triassic Archosauromorpha, archosauromorph reptiles, belonging to the order Rhynchosauria. Members of the group are distinguished by their triangular skulls and elongated, beak like Premaxilla, premaxillary bones. Rhynchosaurs first appeared in the Middle Triassic or possibly the Early Triassic, before becoming abundant and globally distributed during the Carnian stage of the Late Triassic. Description Rhynchosaurs were herbivores, and at times abundant (in some fossil localities accounting for 40 to 60% of specimens found), with stocky bodies and a powerful beak. Early primitive forms, like ''Mesosuchus'' and ''Howesia'', were generally small and more typically lizard-like in build, and had skulls rather similar to the early diapsid ''Youngina'', except for the beak and a few other features. Later and more advanced genera grew to medium to medium large size, up to two meters in length. The skull in these forms were short, broad, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Boreopricea
''Boreopricea'' is an extinct genus of archosauromorph reptile from the Early Triassic of arctic Russia. It is known from a fairly complete skeleton discovered in a borehole on Kolguyev Island, though damage to the specimen and loss of certain bones has complicated study of the genus. ''Boreopricea'' shared many similarities with various other archosauromorphs, making its classification controversial. Various studies have considered it a close relative of ''Prolacerta'', tanystropheids, both, or neither. ''Boreopricea'' is unique among early archosauromorphs due to possessing contact between the jugal and squamosal bones at the rear half of the skull. History ''Boreopricea funerea'' was named and described by Soviet paleontologist L. P. Tatarinov in 1978. It was primarily based on a fairly complete skull and skeleton collected in 1972 from a borehole at Kolguyev Island in the Arctic Ocean. This holotype specimen, PIN 3708/1, included bones from most of the body, apart from th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Elachistosuchus
''Elachistosuchus'' is an extinct genus of neodiapsid reptile, most likely basal archosauromorph, known from the Late Triassic Arnstadt Formation of Saxony-Anhalt, central Germany. It contains a single species, ''Elachistosuchus huenei'', known from a single individual. ''E. huenei'', originally considered a pseudosuchian archosaur and then a rhynchocephalian lepidosaur, was largely ignored in the scientific literature, as its small size and fragility did not permit further mechanical preparation and examination. More recently however a non-invasive μCT scanning was performed to resolve its placement within Reptilia, and found it to represent a more basal reptile, potentially closely related to several early archosauromorph clades. Discovery Fossils of ''Elachistosuchus'' were first described and named by the German paleontologist Werner Janensch in 1949, with the type species being ''Elachistosuchus huenei''. The generic name is derived from Greek ''ἐλάχιστος'' / ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Teyujagua
''Teyujagua'' (named for Teyú Yaguá, a legendary beast from local Guaraní mythology) is an extinct genus of small, probably semi-aquatic archosauromorph reptile that lived in Brazil during the Early Triassic period. The genus contains the type and only known species, ''T. paradoxa''. It is known from a well-preserved skull, and probably resembled a crocodile in appearance. It was an intermediary between the primitive archosauromorphs and the more advanced Archosauriformes, revealing the mosaic evolution of how the key features of the archosauriform skull were acquired. ''Teyujagua'' also provides additional support for a two-phase model of archosauriform radiation, with an initial diversification in the Permian followed by a second adaptive radiation in the Early Triassic. Description ''Teyujagua'' is known only from a well preserved skull with four associated cervical vertebrae, the only known postcranial material, but it is inferred to have been a small, carnivorous quad ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
