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Claudiosaurus Germaini
''Claudiosaurus'' (''claudus'' is Latin for 'lameness' and ''saurus'' means 'lizard') is an extinct genus of diapsid reptiles from the Late Permian Sakamena Formation of the Morondava Basin, Madagascar. It has been suggested to be semi-aquatic. 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. Description Individuals of ''Claudiosaurus'' reached a body length of approximately . The body form of ''Claudiosaurus'' is generally similar to those of other basal diapsids, although the neck of ''Claudiosaurus'' is somewhat elongated, with 8 cervical vertebrae, and had a proportionally small head. The body has 16 trunk vertebrae with gastralia present on the underside, and the tail has at least 45 caudal vertebrae. The jaws had ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lopingian
The Lopingian is the uppermost series/last epoch of the Permian. It is the last epoch of the Paleozoic. The Lopingian was preceded by the Guadalupian and followed by the Early Triassic. The Lopingian is often synonymous with the informal terms late Permian or upper Permian. The name was introduced by Amadeus William Grabau in 1931 and derives from Leping, Jiangxi in China. It consists of two stages/ ages. The earlier is the Wuchiapingian and the later is the Changhsingian. The International Chronostratigraphic Chart (v2018/07) provides a numerical age of 259.1 ±0.5 Ma. If a Global Boundary Stratotype Section and Point (GSSP) has been approved, the lower boundary of the earliest stage determines numerical age of an epoch. The GSSP for the Wuchiapingian has a numerical age of 259.8 ± 0.4 Ma. Evidence from Milankovitch cycles suggests that the length of an Earth day during this epoch was approximately 22 hours. Geography During the Lopingian, most of the earth was ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pachyostosis
Pachyostosis is a non-pathological condition in vertebrate animals in which the bones experience a thickening, generally caused by extra layers of lamellar bone. It often occurs together with bone densification ( osteosclerosis), reducing inner cavities. This joint occurrence is called pachyosteosclerosis. However, especially in the older literature, "pachyostosis" is often used loosely, referring to all osseous specializations characterized by an increase in bone compactness and/or volume. It occurs in both terrestrial and, especially, aquatic or semi-aquatic vertebrates. In aquatic animals, such as seacows (manatees and dugongs), ''Thalassocnus'', and plesiosaurs, pachyostosis in the thoracic region provides (or provided) ballast against the air-filled lungs. This maintains neutral buoyancy in aquatic habitats. Most giant deer showed pronounced pachyostosis of the mandible and skull. It has been suggested that this served to store minerals for antler growth. Many Pachycephal ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Glossopteris
''Glossopteris'' (etymology: from Ancient Greek γλῶσσα (glôssa, " tongue ") + πτερίς (pterís, " fern ")) is the largest and best-known genus of the extinct Permian order of seed plants known as Glossopteridales (also known as Arberiales, Ottokariales, or Dictyopteridiales). The name ''Glossopteris'' refers only to leaves, within the framework of form genera used in paleobotany, used for leaves of plants belonging to the glossopterid family Dictyopteridiaceae. Species of ''Glossopteris'' were the dominant trees of the middle to high-latitude lowland vegetation, often in swampy environments, across Gondwana (which at this time formed the southern part of Pangaea) during the Permian Period. ''Glossopteris'' fossils were critical in recognizing former connections between the various fragments of Gondwana: South America, Africa, India, Australia, New Zealand, and Antarctica. The ''Glossopteris'' forest ecosystems became extinct as part of the end-Permian mass ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Glossopteridales
Glossopteridales is an extinct order of seed plants, known from the Permian of Gondwana. They arose at the beginning of the Permian, and the majority or all members of the group became extinct at the end of the Permian (251.9 mya), during the Permian-Triassic extinction event. Possible Triassic records of the group have been recorded. The best known genus is '' Glossopteris,'' a leaf form genus. Other examples are '' Gangamopteris,'' '' Glossotheca,'' and '' Vertebraria''. Permian permineralised glossopterid reproduction organs found in the central Transantarctic Mountains suggest seeds had an adaxial attachment to the leaf-like mega-sporophyll. This indicate Glossopteridales can be classified as seed ferns and is important in determining the status of the group as either close relatives or ancestors of the angiosperms. Midrib-less forms were common in the Early Permian whereas midrib forms were more common in the Late Permian Late or LATE may refer to: Everyday usage * T ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Equisetales
Equisetales is an order of subclass Equisetidae with only one living family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ..., Equisetaceae, containing the genus '' Equisetum'' (horsetails), as well as a variety of extinct groups, including the tree-like Calamitaceae. Classification In the molecular phylogenetic classification of Smith et al. in 2006, Equisetales, in its present circumscription, was held to be the sole member of class Equisetopsida. The linear sequence of Christenhusz et al. (2011), intended for compatibility with the classification of Chase and Reveal (2009) which placed all land plants in Equisetopsida, made it the sole member of subclass Equisetidae, equivalent to Smith's Equisetopsida. The placement of Equisetales in subclass Equisetidae has subsequently ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lake Tanganyika
Lake Tanganyika ( ; ) is an African Great Lakes, African Great Lake. It is the world's List of lakes by volume, second-largest freshwater lake by volume and the List of lakes by depth, second deepest, in both cases after Lake Baikal in Siberia. It is the world's longest freshwater lake. The lake is shared among four countries—Tanzania, the Democratic Republic of the Congo (the DRC), Burundi, and Zambia—with Tanzania (46%) and the DRC (40%) possessing the majority of the lake. It drains via the Lukuga River into the Congo River system, which ultimately discharges at Banana, Democratic Republic of the Congo into the Atlantic Ocean. Geography Lake Tanganyika is situated within the Albertine Rift, the western branch of the East African Rift, and is confined by the mountainous walls of the valley. It is the largest rift lake in Africa and the second-largest freshwater lake by volume in the world. It is the deepest lake in Africa and holds the greatest volume of fresh water on the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rift Valley
A rift valley is a linear shaped lowland between several highlands or mountain ranges produced by the action of a geologic rift. Rifts are formed as a result of the pulling apart of the lithosphere due to extensional tectonics. The linear depression may subsequently be further deepened by the forces of erosion. More generally the valley is likely to be filled with sedimentary deposits derived from the rift flanks and the surrounding areas. In many cases rift lakes are formed. One of the best known examples of this process is the East African Rift. On Earth, rifts can occur at all elevations, from the sea floor to plateaus and mountain ranges in continental crust or in oceanic crust. They are often associated with a number of adjoining subsidiary or co-extensive valleys, which are typically considered part of the principal rift valley geologically. Earth's rift valleys The most extensive rift valley is located along the crest of the mid-ocean ridge system and is the result ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Acerosodontosaurus
''Acerosodontosaurus'' is an Extinction, extinct genus of Neodiapsida, neodiapsid Reptile, reptiles that lived during the Late Permian of Madagascar. The only species of ''Acerosodontosaurus'', ''A. piveteaui'', is known from a natural wiktionary:mold_fossil, mold of a single partial skeleton including a crushed skull and part of the body and limbs. The fossil was discovered in deposits of the Lower Sakamena Formation. Based on skeletal characteristics, it has been suggested that ''Acerosodontosaurus'' individuals were at least partially Aquatic animal, aquatic. ''Acerosodontosaurus'' has generally been considered a "Younginiformes, younginiform", part of a Paraphyly, paraphyletic Evolutionary grade, grade of Permian Diapsid, diapsids which linked the most basal ("primitive") diapsids (Araeoscelidia, araeoscelidians such as ''Petrolacosaurus'') to more derived ("advanced") diapsids, including the earliest ancestors of modern reptiles such as Crocodilia, crocodilians and Lizard, li ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Younginiformes
Younginiformes is a group of diapsid reptiles known from the Permian-Triassic of Africa and Madagascar. It has been used as a replacement for " Eosuchia". Younginiformes (including '' Acerosodontosaurus'', '' Hovasaurus'', '' Kenyasaurus'', '' Tangasaurus'', '' Thadeosaurus'' and ''Youngina'') were historically suggested to be lepidosauromorphs, but are currently thought to be basal non- saurian neodiapsids. The group is sometimes divided into two families, Tangasauridae and Younginidae. The monophyly of the group is disputed. A 2009 study found them to be an unresolved polytomy at the base of Neodiapsida, while a 2011 study recovered the group as paraphyletic. A 2022 study recovered the Younginiformes as a monophyletic group of basal neodiapsid reptiles, also including '' Claudiosaurus'' and '' Saurosternon'' as part of the group. Some younginiforms like ''Hovasaurus'' and ''Acerosodontosaurus'' are thought to have had an amphibious lifestyle, while others like ''Kenyasaurus ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Plesiosaur
The Plesiosauria or plesiosaurs are an Order (biology), order or clade of extinct Mesozoic marine reptiles, belonging to the Sauropterygia. Plesiosaurs first appeared in the latest Triassic Period (geology), Period, possibly in the Rhaetian stage, about 203 million years ago. They became especially common during the Jurassic Period, thriving until their disappearance due to the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event at the end of the Cretaceous Period, about 66 million years ago. They had a worldwide oceanic distribution, and some species at least partly inhabited freshwater environments. Plesiosaurs were among the first fossil reptiles discovered. In the beginning of the nineteenth century, scientists realised how distinctive their build was and they were named as a separate order in 1835. The first plesiosaurian genus, the eponymous ''Plesiosaurus'', was named in 1821. Since then, more than a hundred valid species have been described. In the early twenty-first cent ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
