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Pistosaurs
Pistosauroidea is a group of marine reptiles within the superorder Sauropterygia that first appeared in the latter part of the Early Triassic and were the ancestors of plesiosaurs. Pistosauroids are rare in Triassic marine assemblages, and are represented by only a few fossils from central Europe, the United States, and China. Recent phylogenetic analyses consider the Triassic pistosauroids to be a paraphyletic grouping, meaning that they do not form a true clade. Plesiosauria is now placed within Pistosauroidea, while the traditional pistosauroids are successively more basal, or primitive, sauropterygians. Below is a cladogram A cladogram (from Greek language, Greek ''clados'' "branch" and ''gramma'' "character") is a diagram used in cladistics to show relations among organisms. A cladogram is not, however, an Phylogenetic tree, evolutionary tree because it does not s ... of pistosauroid relationships from Cheng ''et al.'' (2006): Below is a cladogram of pistosauroid rela ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pistosaurus
''Pistosaurus'' (exact etymology uncertain) is an extinct genus of aquatic sauropterygian reptile closely related to plesiosaurs. Fossils have been found in France and Germany, and date to the Middle Triassic. It contains a single species, ''Pistosaurus longaevus. Pistosaurus'' is known as the oldest "subaquatic flying" reptile on earth. The skull of ''Pistosaurus'' generally resembles that of other Triassic sauropterygians. However, there are several synapomorphies that make ''Pistosaurus'' distinguished: the long, slender, snout; the possession of splint-like nasals that are excluded from the external naris; and the posterior extension of the premaxilla to the frontals. Based on synapomorphies such as the small nasals size and the presence of interpterygoid vacuity, ''Pistosaurus'' is more closely related to Plesiosauria than to '' Nothosaurus''. ''Pistosaurus'' is often mistaken with ''Nothosaurus'' and Plesiosauria. ''Nothosaurus'' belongs to the clade Nothosauroidea from ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Augustasaurus
''Augustasaurus'' is an extinct genus of sauropterygians that lived during the Anisian stage of the Middle Triassic in what is now North America. Only one species is known, ''A. hagdorni'', described in 1997 from fossils discovered in the Favret Formation, Nevada, USA. ''Augustasaurus'' is a pistosauroid estimated to be long. The skull has fang-like teeth, indicating a diet of fish and squid. Its postcranial anatomy is similar to that of future plesiosaurs, with which it visibly shares a common ancestor according to the most recent phylogenetic analyses. The Favret Formation, from which ''Augustasaurus'' is known, contains numerous fossils of marine reptiles dating from the Middle Triassic. The fossils mainly include ichthyosaurs, ''Augustasaurus'' being the only sauropterygian to have been identified in the area. Discovery and naming The first known fossil of ''Augustasaurus'' was discovered in 1993 in Muller Canyon, in the Augusta Mountains located in Nevada, United Sta ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chinchenia
''Chinchenia'' is an extinct genus of a basal pistosauroid known from the Middle Triassic (possibly Ladinian age) of Guizhou Province, southwestern China. It contains a single species, ''Chinchenia sungi''. Discovery ''Chinchenia'' is known from at least 4 extremely fragmentary individuals all preserved and collected together. The lectotype of ''Chinchenia'' was chosen to be IVPP V3227, the front end of the left mandible, since that at the time of its original description, its type material was not specified. Other elements from its original description are considered to be paratypes and include the front part of a left lower jaw with 5 broken teeth, 11 neck, six lower back and one sacral vertebrae in various degrees of completeness, 8 unidentified neural arch fragments, many fragments of dorsal and sacral ribs including one proximal part of a left dorsal rib, two right scapulae one of which is very incomplete, two complete humeri, 5 incomplete humeri of which four ar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Corosaurus
''Corosaurus'' is an extinct genus of pistosauroid known from Wyoming of the United States. The holotype measured about long, while larger specimens would have belonged to individuals measuring more than long. History of discovery ''Corosaurus'' is known from the holotype UW 5485, a partial skeleton which includes the skull. Later, the referred specimens YPM 41030-41068, FMNH PR 135, FMNH PR 1368-1369, FMNH PR 242-246 and FMNH PR 1382-1383 were described by Glenn William Storrs in 1991. All specimens were collected in Jackson Canyon, Natrona County, from the Chugwater Group of the Alcova Limestone Formation, dating to the late Olenekian stage of the late Early Triassic, about 247.4-245 million years ago. Etymology ''Corosaurus'' was first named by Ermine Cowles Case in 1936 and the type species is ''Corosaurus alcovensis''. The specific name is derived from the name of the Alcova Limestone Formation, in which the holotype ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cymatosaurus
''Cymatosaurus'' is an extinct genus of pistosauroid or nothosauriform sauropterygian. It is known to have been alive from the Early Triassic to the Middle Triassic period (latest Olenekian to Anisian stages) of Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ... and they seem to originate from the Netherlands. It was small to medium-sized for an eosauropterygian, measuring long. See also * Timeline of plesiosaur research References Fossil taxa described in 1894 Early Triassic reptiles of Europe Pistosaurs Triassic sauropterygians Olenekian genus first appearances Anisian genus extinctions Middle Triassic reptiles of Europe Anisian life Sauropterygian genera {{triassic-reptile-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kwangsisaurus
''Kwangsisaurus'' is an extinct genus of a basal pistosauroid known from the Early or Middle Triassic (Olenekian or Anisian age) of Guangxi, southern China. It contains a single species, ''Kwangsisaurus orientalis''. Discovery ''Kwangsisaurus'' is known solely from the holotype IVPP V2338, a fragmentary postcranial skeleton housed at the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology. The skeleton consists of 20 back vertebrae, six front-most tail vertebrae, badly persevered shoulder girdle, and the right forelimb. Yang misoriented the specimen, mistaking the neck for a tail and the shoulder for a pelvis. IVPP V2338 was collected at Fupingtun, Dengilu of Wuming, Guangxi Province, from the Beisi Formation of the Loulou Group. Its dating is uncertain, but falls within the Olenekian or Anisian stage of the late Early Triassic or early Middle Triassic. A second species, ''K. lusiensis'', named by Young in 1978 based on IVPP RV 100 and collect ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Wangosaurus
''Wangosaurus'' is an extinct genus of basal pistosauroid known from the Middle Triassic (late Ladinian stage) Falang Formation of Xingyi in Guizhou Province, southwestern China. It contains a single species, ''Wangosaurus brevirostris'', first described and named by Le-Tian Ma, Da-Yong Jiang, Olivier Rieppel, Ryosuke Motani and Andrea Tintori in 2015. The specific name ''brevirostris'' comes from Greek for "short snout". It is known solely from its holotype, a nearly complete and articulated skeleton A skeleton is the structural frame that supports the body of most animals. There are several types of skeletons, including the exoskeleton, which is a rigid outer shell that holds up an organism's shape; the endoskeleton, a rigid internal fra ... measuring long (without only the rear part of its tail). References Pistosaurs Triassic sauropterygians Ladinian genera Middle Triassic reptiles of Asia Triassic China Fossils of China Paleontology in Guizhou Xingy ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pistosaurus BW
''Pistosaurus'' (exact etymology uncertain) is an extinct genus of aquatic sauropterygian reptile closely related to plesiosaurs. Fossils have been found in France and Germany, and date to the Middle Triassic. It contains a type species, single species, ''Pistosaurus longaevus. Pistosaurus'' is known as the oldest "subaquatic flying" reptile on earth. The skull of ''Pistosaurus'' generally resembles that of other Triassic sauropterygians. However, there are several synapomorphies that make ''Pistosaurus'' distinguished: the long, slender, snout; the possession of splint-like nasals that are excluded from the external naris; and the posterior extension of the premaxilla to the frontals. Based on synapomorphies such as the small nasals size and the presence of interpterygoid vacuity, ''Pistosaurus'' is more closely related to Plesiosauria than to ''Nothosaurus''. ''Pistosaurus'' is often mistaken with ''Nothosaurus'' and Plesiosauria. ''Nothosaurus'' belongs to the clade Nothosauro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yunguisaurus
''Yunguisaurus'' is an extinct genus of pistosaur known from the Guizhou Province of China. Description ''Yunguisaurus'' is known from the holotype NMNS 004529/F003862, an articulated and almost complete skeleton missing only the distal tail. The preserved skeleton has a length of about with estimated total length about , while paratype specimen became much larger with length around . It was collected near Huangnihe River, Chajiang of Guizhou, from the Falang Formation. It is thought to belong to the ''Paragondolella naantangensis-P. polygnathiformis'' Assemblage Zone, dating to the Carnian stage of the early Late Triassic. It differs from other pistosauroids by a combination of characters. Nevertheless, its original description is a preliminary report while the postcranial skeleton still waits for further preparation and full description. Etymology ''Yunguisaurus'' was first named by Yen-Nien Cheng, Tamaki Sato, Xiao-Chun Wu and Chun Li in 2006 and the type species is ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pachypleurosauria
Pachypleurosauria is an extinct clade of primitive sauropterygian reptiles from the Triassic period. Pachypleurosaurs vaguely resembled aquatic lizards, with elongate forms ranging in size from , with small heads, long necks, paddle-like limbs, and long, deep tails. The limb girdles are greatly reduced, so it is unlikely these animals could move about on land. The widely spaced peg-like teeth project at the front of the jaws, indicating that these animals fed on fish. In the species '' Prosantosaurus'', it was observed that they fed on small fishes and crustaceans which they devoured entirely and that its teeth regrew after they broke off. This was the first observation of tooth replacement in a European pachypleurosaur, with the only other discovery of such an event having been made in China. Classification Pachypleurosaurs were traditionally included within the Nothosauroidea (Carroll 1988, Benton 2004). In some more recent cladistic classifications, however, (Rieppel 2000), ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cladogram
A cladogram (from Greek language, Greek ''clados'' "branch" and ''gramma'' "character") is a diagram used in cladistics to show relations among organisms. A cladogram is not, however, an Phylogenetic tree, evolutionary tree because it does not show how ancestors are related to descendants, nor does it show how much they have changed, so many differing evolutionary trees can be consistent with the same cladogram. A cladogram uses lines that branch off in different directions ending at a clade, a group of organisms with a last common ancestor. There are many shapes of cladograms but they all have lines that branch off from other lines. The lines can be traced back to where they branch off. These branching off points represent a hypothetical ancestor (not an actual entity) which can be inferred to exhibit the traits shared among the terminal taxa above it. This hypothetical ancestor might then provide clues about the order of evolution of various features, adaptation, and other e ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Placodontia
Placodonts ("Tablet (pharmacy), tablet tooth, teeth") are an Extinction, extinct order (biology), order of marine reptiles that lived during the Triassic period, becoming extinct at the end of the period. They were part of Sauropterygia, the group that includes Plesiosauria, plesiosaurs. Placodonts were generally between in length, with some of the largest measuring long. The first specimen was discovered in 1830. They have been found throughout central Europe, North Africa, the Middle East and China. Palaeobiology The earliest forms, like ''Placodus'', which lived in the early to middle Triassic, resembled barrel-bodied lizards superficially similar to the marine iguana of today, but larger. In contrast to the marine iguana, which feeds on algae, the placodonts ate Mollusca, molluscs and so their teeth were flat and tough to crush shells. In the earliest periods, their size was probably enough to keep away the top sea predators of the time: the sharks. However, as time passe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
