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Neodiapsida
Neodiapsida is a clade, or major branch, of the reptilian family tree, typically defined as including all diapsids apart from some early primitive types known as the araeoscelidians. Modern reptiles and birds belong to the neodiapsid subclade Sauria. The oldest known neodiapsid is generally considered to be ''Orovenator'' from the Early Permian (Cisuralian) of North America. Basal-non saurian neodiaspids were ancestrally lizard-like, but basal Permian neodiapsids also include specialised swimming forms (''Hovasaurus'') the gliding lizard-like Weigeltisauridae, as well as the Triassic chameleon-like drepanosaurs. The position of the highly derived Mesozoic marine reptile groups Thalattosauria, Ichthyosauromorpha and Sauropterygia within Neodiapsida is uncertain, and they may lie within Sauria. Classification The clade Neodiapsida was given a phylogenetic definition by Laurin in 1991. He defined it as the branch-based clade containing all animals more closely related to "Youngin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Diapsid
Diapsids ("two arches") are a clade of sauropsids, distinguished from more primitive eureptiles by the presence of two holes, known as temporal fenestrae, in each side of their skulls. The group first appeared about three hundred million years ago during the late Carboniferous period. All diapsids other than the most primitive ones in the clade Araeoscelidia are sometimes placed into the clade Neodiapsida. The diapsids are extremely diverse, and include birds and all modern reptile groups, including turtles, which were historically thought to lie outside the group. Although some diapsids have lost either one hole (lizards), or both holes (snakes and turtles), or have a heavily restructured skull (modern birds), they are still classified as diapsids based on their ancestry. At least 17,084 species of diapsid animals are extant: 9,159 birds, and 7,925 snakes, lizards, tuatara, turtles, and crocodiles. Characteristics The name Diapsida means "two arches", and diapsids are tradition ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Drepanosauromorpha
Drepanosaurs (members of the clade Drepanosauromorpha) are a group of extinct reptiles that lived between the Carnian and Rhaetian stages of the late Triassic Period, approximately between 230 and 210 million years ago. The various species of drepanosaurid were characterized by specialized grasping limbs and often prehensile tails, adaptions for arboreal (tree-dwelling) and fossorial (digging) lifestyles, with some having also been suggested to be aquatic. Fossils of drepanosaurs have been found in Arizona, New Mexico, New Jersey, Utah, England, and northern Italy. The name is taken from the family's namesake genus ''Drepanosaurus'', which means "sickle lizard," a reference to their strongly curved claws. Description Drepanosaurs are notable for their distinctive, triangular skulls, which resemble the skulls of birds. Some drepanosaurs, such as ''Avicranium,'' had pointed, toothless, bird-like beaks. This similarity to birds may have led to the misattribution of what may be a dr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Drepanosaur
Drepanosaurs (members of the clade Drepanosauromorpha) are a group of extinct reptiles that lived between the Carnian and Rhaetian stages of the late Triassic Period, approximately between 230 and 210 million years ago. The various species of drepanosaurid were characterized by specialized grasping limbs and often prehensile tails, adaptions for arboreal (tree-dwelling) and fossorial (digging) lifestyles, with some having also been suggested to be aquatic. Fossils of drepanosaurs have been found in Arizona, New Mexico, New Jersey, Utah, England, and northern Italy. The name is taken from the family's namesake genus ''Drepanosaurus'', which means "sickle lizard," a reference to their strongly curved claws. Description Drepanosaurs are notable for their distinctive, triangular skulls, which resemble the skulls of birds. Some drepanosaurs, such as ''Avicranium,'' had pointed, toothless, bird-like beaks. This similarity to birds may have led to the misattribution of what may be a dr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Younginidae
Younginidae is an extinct family of neodiapsid reptiles from the Late Permian and Early Triassic. In a phylogenetic context, younginids are near the base of the clade Neodiapsida. Younginidae includes the species ''Youngina capensis'' from the Late Permian of South Africa and '' Thadeosaurus colcanapi'' from the Late Permian and Early Triassic of Madagascar. ''Heleosuchus griesbachi'' from the Late Permian of South Africa may also be a member of the family. Younginidae was traditionally assigned to Eosuchia, an order containing an assemblage of basal diapsids now thought to represent an evolutionary grade rather than a true clade. In 1945 paleontologist Alfred Romer reclassified Younginidae within a new group, Younginiformes, grouping it with the families Tangasauridae and Prolacertidae. Romer considered Younginidae to include many genera that are no longer classified as younginids: ''Paliguana'', '' Palaegama'', and ''Saurosternon'' are now considered basal lepidosauromorphs, '' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Avicephala
Avicephala ("bird heads") is an extinct, potentially polyphyletic grouping of diapsid reptiles that lived during the Late Permian and Triassic periods characterised by superficially bird-like skulls and arboreal lifestyles. As a clade, Avicephala is defined as including the gliding weigeltisaurids and the arboreal drepanosaurs to the exclusion of other major diapsid groups. This relationship is not recovered in the majority of phylogenetic analyses of early diapsids and so Avicephala is typically regarded as an unnatural grouping. However, the clade was recovered again in 2021 in a redescription of ''Weigeltisaurus'', raising the possibility that the clade may be valid after all. Description Avicephalans were named in reference to their pointed, lightly constructed, superficially bird-like skulls. The resemblance is especially striking in some drepanosaurs such as ''Avicranium'' which possess toothless beaks, forward-facing eyes and large, rounded craniums. These superficial si ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Palacrodon
''Palacrodon'' is an extinct genus of Triassic reptile with a widespread distribution. It was initially described from teeth collected in Early Triassic deposits in South Africa, and later reported from the Early Triassic of Antarctica and the Late Triassic of Arizona. Although previously considered an early rhynchocephalian, it is currently considered to be a non-saurian neodiapsid. History The type specimen of ''Palacrodon browni'' was described from the Early Triassic Cynognathus Assemblage Zone of South Africa by Robert Broom, who classified it in Rhynchocephalia. Malan (1963) questioned the rhynchocephalian placement of ''Palacrodon'', viewing it as either a lizard or procolophonid. A skull collected from the lower part of Fremouw Formation of Antarctica was named ''Fremouwsaurus geludens'' by Gow (1992), but that taxon was synonymized with ''Palacrodon'' by Gow (1999). Gow also described new material of the genus from South Africa and concluded that ''Palacrodon'' itself wa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Youngina Capensis
''Youngina'' is an extinct genus of diapsid reptile from the Late Permian Beaufort Group (''Tropidostoma''-''Dicynodon'' zones) of the Karoo Red Beds of South Africa. This, and a few related forms, make up the family Younginidae, within the Order Eosuchia (proposed by Broom in 1914). Eosuchia, having become a wastebasket taxon for many probably distantly-related primitive diapsid reptiles ranging from the Late Carboniferous to the Eocene, Romer proposed that it be replaced by Younginiformes (that included Younginidae and the Tangasauridae, ranging from the Permian to the Triassic). ''Youngina'' is known from several specimens. Many of these were attributed to as separate genera and species (such as ''Youngoides'' and ''Youngopsis''), but it was later realized that they were not distinct from ''Y. capensis''. The holotype specimen of ''Youngina'' was described briefly in 1914. The "''Youngoides romeri''" specimen was first attributed to ''Youngina'', but later given its eponymous ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Petrolacosaurus
''Petrolacosaurus'' ("rock lake lizard") is an extinct genus of diapsid reptile from the late Carboniferous period. It was a small, long reptile, and the earliest known reptile with two temporal fenestrae (holes at the rear part of the skull). This means that it was at the base of Diapsida, the largest and most successful radiation of reptiles that would eventually include all modern reptile groups, as well as dinosaurs (which survive to the modern day as birds) and other famous extinct reptiles such as plesiosaurs, ichthyosaurs, and pterosaurs. However, ''Petrolacosaurus'' itself was part of Araeoscelida, a short-lived early branch of the diapsid family tree which went extinct in the mid-Permian. Discovery The first ''Petrolacosaurus'' fossil was found in 1932 in Garnett, Kansas, by a field expedition from the University of Kansas Natural History Museum. The party consisted of Henry H. Lane, Claude Hibbard, David Dunkle, Wallace Lane, Louis Coghill, and Curtis Hesse. Un ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kenyasaurus
''Kenyasaurus'' is an extinct genus of basal tangasaurid known from the Early Triassic period of Coast Province, southeastern Kenya. It contains a single species, ''Kenyasaurus mariakaniensis''. Discovery ''Kenyasaurus'' is known only from the holotype specimen, KNM-MA1, a well preserved and partially complete postcranial skeleton, lacking much of the neck, pectoral girdle and forelimb, which is hosted at the Kenya National Museum. It was found at the Mariakani locality which is located 25 miles from Mombasa, southeastern Kenya. It was collected from the upper part of the Maji ya Chumvi Beds ( Maji-Ya-Chumvi Formation). These beds form the lower part of the Middle Duruma Sandstone Series (Duruma Group) and on the basis of lithological similarities with beds in Tanzania and Madagascar were dated to the Induan and Olenekian stages of the Early Triassic period, about 251.0-245 million years ago. This specimen represents the only reptilian fossils currently known from these be ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sauria
Sauria is the clade containing the most recent common ancestor of archosaurs (such as crocodilians, dinosaurs, etc.) and lepidosaurs ( lizards and kin), and all its descendants. Since most molecular phylogenies recover turtles as more closely related to archosaurs than to lepidosaurs as part of Archelosauria, Sauria can be considered the crown group of diapsids, or reptiles in general. Depending on the systematics, Sauria includes all modern reptiles or most of them (including birds, a type of archosaur) as well as various extinct groups. Sauria lies within the larger total group Sauropsida, which also contains various stem-reptiles which are more closely related to reptiles than to mammals. Prior to its modern usage, "Sauria" was used as a name for the suborder occupied by lizards, which before 1800 were considered crocodilians. Systematics Recent genomic studiesCrawford, Nicholas G., et al. "More than 1000 ultraconserved elements provide evidence that turtles are the sister g ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Orovenator
''Orovenator'' is an extinct genus of diapsid from Lower Permian (Artinskian stage) deposits of Oklahoma, United States. It is known from two partial skulls from the Richards Spur locality in Oklahoma. The holotype OMNH 74606 consists of a partial skull preserving snout and mandible, and the referred specimen, OMNH 74607, a partial skull preserving the skull roof, vertebrae and palatal elements. It was first named by Robert R. Reisz, Sean P. Modesto and Diane M. Scott in 2011 and the type species is ''Orovenator mayorum''. The generic name means "mountain", ''oro'', in Greek in reference to the Richards Spur locality, which was mountainous during the Permian period and "hunter", ''venator'', in Latin. The specific name honours Bill and Julie May. ''Orovenator'' is the oldest and most basal neodiapsid to date. A 2018 redescription by David Ford and Roger Benson found that ''Orovenator'' shared many similarities with varanopids, a group of reptile-like tetrapods tradit ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Claudiosaurus
''Claudiosaurus'' (''claudus'' is Latin for 'lameness' and ''saurus'' means 'lizard') is an extinct genus of diapsid reptiles from the Permian Sakamena Formation of the Morondava Basin, Madagascar. The pattern of the vertebrate, girle, and limbs indicates that ''Claudiosaurus'' and ''Thadeosaurus'' share a common ancestor. History and discovery ''Claudiosaurus'' is known from the Sakamena Formation of Madagascar. ''Claudiosaurus'' is found from the Late Permian. Although a paper mentions that they have been also found in Early Triassic deposits of Madagascar, citation does not mention that ''Claudiosaurus'' is from Triassic. Biology and description ''Claudiosaurus'' was one of the first members of the Neodiapsida, a group of reptiles containing diapsids more derived than the primitive Araeoscelidia. It had a relatively long body and neck, reaching on overall length of about . It is presumed to have been partially oceanic, living its life in a way similar to the modern marine ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
