Sharovipterygidae is a family of strange gliding

archosauromorph 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, l ...

s from the mid-

Triassic The Triassic ( ) is a geologic period and system (stratigraphy), system which spans 50.6 million years from the end of the Permian Period 251.902 million years ago (Year#Abbreviations yr and ya, Mya), to the beginning of the Jurassic Period 201.36 ...

Eurasia Eurasia (, ) is the largest continental area on Earth, comprising all of Europe and Asia. Primarily in the Northern and Eastern Hemispheres, it spans from the British Isles and the Iberian Peninsula in the west to the Japanese archipelago ...

, notable for their short forelimbs and long,

wing A wing is a type of fin that produces lift while moving through air or some other fluid. Accordingly, wings have streamlined cross-sections that are subject to aerodynamic forces and act as airfoils. A wing's aerodynamic efficiency is e ...

-like hindlimbs, which supported membranes for gliding. They are represented by ''

Sharovipteryx ''Sharovipteryx'' ("Sharov's wing", known until 1981 as ''Podopteryx'', "foot wing"), is a genus of early gliding reptiles containing the single species ''Sharovipteryx mirabilis''. It is known from a single fossil and is the only glider with a m ...

'' and '' Ozimek volans''. A 2019 phylogenetic analysis suggested that ''Ozimek'', and by extension ''Sharovipteryx'', may belong to the Tanystropheidae.

References

Middle Triassic reptiles of Asia Prehistoric archosauromorphs Gliding animals Late Triassic reptiles of Asia Late Triassic reptiles of Europe Prehistoric reptile families {{triassic-reptile-stub