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Rhynchocephalia
Rhynchocephalia (; ) is an order of lizard-like reptiles that includes only one living species, the tuatara (''Sphenodon punctatus'') of New Zealand. Despite its current lack of diversity, during the Mesozoic rhynchocephalians were a diverse group including a wide array of morphologically distinct forms. The oldest record of the group is dated to the Middle Triassic around 238 to 240 million years ago, and they had achieved a worldwide distribution by the Early Jurassic. Most rhynchocephalians belong to the group Sphenodontia ('wedge-teeth'). Their closest living relatives are lizards and snakes in the order Squamata, with the two orders being grouped together in the superorder Lepidosauria. Many of the niches occupied by lizards today were held by sphenodontians during the Triassic and Jurassic, although lizard diversity began to overtake sphenodontian diversity in the Cretaceous, and they had disappeared almost entirely by the beginning of the Cenozoic. While the modern tuat ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sphenodon Punctatus
Tuatara (''Sphenodon punctatus'') are reptiles endemic to New Zealand. Despite their close resemblance to lizards, they are part of a distinct lineage, the order Rhynchocephalia. The name ''tuatara'' is derived from the Māori language and means "peaks on the back". The single extant species of tuatara is the only surviving member of its order. Rhynchocephalians originated during the Triassic (~250 million years ago), reached worldwide distribution and peak diversity during the Jurassic and, with the exception of tuatara, were extinct by 60 million years ago. Their closest living relatives are squamates (lizards and snakes). For this reason, tuatara are of interest in the study of the evolution of lizards and snakes, and for the reconstruction of the appearance and habits of the earliest diapsids, a group of amniote tetrapods that also includes dinosaurs (including birds) and crocodilians. Tuatara are greenish brown and grey, and measure up to from head to tail-tip and wei ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Colobops
''Colobops'' is a genus of reptile from the Late Triassic of Connecticut. Only known from a tiny skull (estimated total length of 2.8 centimeters or 1.1 inches long), this reptile has been interpreted to possess skull attachments for very strong jaw muscles. This may have given it a very strong bite, despite its small size. However, under some interpretations of the CT scan data, ''Colobopss bite force may not have been unusual compared to other reptiles. The generic name, ''Colobops'', is a combination of ''κολοβός'' (''kolobós''), meaning shortened, and ''ὤψ (ṓps),'' meaning face. This translation, "shortened face", refers to its short and triangular skull. ''Colobops'' is known from a single species, ''Colobops noviportensis''. The specific name, ''noviportensis'', is a latinization of New Haven, the name of both the geological setting of its discovery (the New Haven Arkose) as well as a nearby large city. The phylogenetic relations of ''Colobops'' are controver ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Opisthodontia (reptiles)
Opisthodontia is a proposed clade of sphenodontian reptiles, uniting ''Opisthias'' from the Late Jurassic-earliest Cretaceous of Europe and North America with the Elienodontinae, a group of herbivorous sphenodontians known from the Late Triassic to Late Cretaceous. Description Teeth and diet Like other sphenodonts, opisthodonts had acrodont teeth which grew directly from the bone. They had one row of teeth on the lower jaw and two rows on the roof of the mouth. When processing food, their mandibular teeth would have slid between the outer (maxillary) teeth and inner (palatine) teeth. Some opisthodonts, such as '' Sphenotitan'', also had clusters of small teeth on the pterygoid at the center of the mouth roof. Opisthodont teeth were wide, numerous, and tightly-packed for grinding and shredding tough plant matter. Although wide shredding teeth are also known in a few other sphenodontians, such as ''Clevosaurus'' and '' Pelecymala'', the most diverse and long-lasting group of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Clevosaurus
''Clevosaurus'' (meaning "Gloucester lizard") is an extinct genus of rhynchocephalian reptile from the Triassic, Late Triassic and the Jurassic, Early Jurassic Period (geology), periods. Species of ''Clevosaurus'' were widespread across Pangaea, and have been found on all continents except Australia and Antarctica. Five species of ''Clevosaurus'' have been found in ancient fissure fill deposits in south-west England and Wales, alongside other sphenodontians, early mammals and dinosaurs. In regards to its Pangaean distribution, ''C. hadroprodon'' is the oldest record of a sphenodontian from Gondwana, though its affinity to ''Clevosaurus'' has been questioned. History of discovery The first species of ''Clevosaurus'' to be described was ''C. hudsoni'', which was described by William Elgin Swinton in 1939 from a fissure fill deposit in Cromhall Quarry (Magnesian Conglomerate, Magnesian Conglomerate Formation) in the county of Gloucestershire, England, with the name of the county le ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Theretairus
''Theretairus'' is a Late Jurassic genus of sphenodont reptile from the Morrison Formation of western North America,Foster, J. (2007). "Table 2.1: Fossil Vertebrates of the Morrison Formation." ''Jurassic West: The Dinosaurs of the Morrison Formation and Their World''. Indiana University Press. pp. 58-59. present in stratigraphic zones 5 and 6.Foster, J. (2007). "Appendix." ''Jurassic West: The Dinosaurs of the Morrison Formation and Their World''. Indiana University Press. pp. 327-329. History and naming The holotype consists of a right mandible and several in-socket teeth from Quarry 9 at Como Bluff, Wyoming where it was excavated by paleontologist William Harlow Reed, who then was working for Othniel Charles Marsh, and it was deposited at the Yale Peabody Museum under YPM VP 13764. The locality comes from strata of the Brushy Basin Member of the Morrison Formation, which also bears other sphenodontians ''Opisthias'' and '' Eilenodon.''Rasmussen, T. E.; Callison, George ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Diphydontosaurus
''Diphydontosaurus'' is an extinct genus of rhynchocephalian reptile from the Late Triassic of England and Italy. This small animal was related to the living tuatara ('' Sphenodon''). It may have grown to a length of . It is more derived than '' Gephyrosaurus'', yet more primitive than '' Planocephalosaurus'', and shares traits with both of them. Description ''Diphydontosaurus'' was a small sphenodontian, measuring up to long. It had long, sharp claws to help it catch its prey, and peg-like piercing teeth to help it eat insects. These features are shared with the other primitive rhynchocephalians '' Gephyrosaurus'' and '' Planocephalosaurus''. Classification ''Diphydontosaurus'' is known from many mostly complete specimens, which means that its classification as a rhynchocephalian is quite certain. In an analysis by Oliver Rahut and colleagues in 2012, it was found that ''Diphydontosaurus'' is the second most basal rhynchocephalian, after ''Gephyrosaurus'', and the most p ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Godavarisaurus
''Godavarisaurus'' was a sphenodontid reptile from the Early Jurassic ( Hettangian to Pliensbachian) Kota Formation of Andhra Pradesh, India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so .... See also * Rhynchocephalia References Sphenodontia Jurassic lepidosaurs Extinct animals of India Prehistoric reptile genera {{paleo-reptile-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pelecymala
''Pelecymala'' is an extinct genus of sphenodontian reptile that lived in southwest England during the 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 ... period. It has been recovered in recent studies as a primitive member of the group. References Prehistoric reptile genera Sphenodontia Fossil taxa described in 1986 {{Triassic-animal-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sphenodontidae
Sphenodontidae is a family within the reptile group Rhynchocephalia, comprising taxa most closely related to the living tuatara of the genus ''Sphenodon''. Historically the taxa included within Sphenodontidae have varied greatly between analyses, and the group has lacked a formal definition. '' Cynosphenodon'' from the Early Jurassic of Mexico has consistently been recovered as a close relative of the tuatara in most analyses, with the clade containing the two often called Sphenodontinae. The herbivorous Eilenodontinae, otherwise considered part of Opisthodontia, is also sometimes considered part of this family as the sister group to Sphenodontinae. Sphenodontines first appeared during the Early Jurassic, and are characterised by a complete lower temporal bar caused by the fusion of the quadrate/quadratojugal and the jugal The jugal is a skull bone found in most reptiles, amphibians and birds. In mammals, the jugal is often called the malar or zygomatic. It is connected to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sigmala
''Sigmala'' was a reptile from the Late Triassic The Late Triassic is the third and final epoch of the Triassic Period in the geologic time scale, spanning the time between Ma and Ma (million years ago). It is preceded by the Middle Triassic Epoch and followed by the Early Jurassic Epoch. .... Distribution ''Sigmala'' lived in the . Classification ''Sigmala'' was named a sphenodont by R.L. Carroll in 1988. See also * Lepidosauromorpha * Lepidosauria References Fossils of Great Britain Sphenodontia Triassic lepidosaurs Fossil taxa described in 1986 {{triassic-reptile-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lamarquesaurus
''Lamarquesaurus'' is an extinct genus of sphenodontian from the Late Cretaceous (Campanian) of Patagonia. It is known from a single species, ''Lamarquesaurus cabazai''. This genus and species is represented by MML-PV-42, a well-preserved right maxillary bone (including 10 teeth of varying completeness). This bone was found at the Cerro Tortuga site near Lamarque, Argentina, which preserves fossils from the Cretaceous Allen Formation. The discoverer of the Cerro Tortuga locality, Tito Cabaza, is the namesake of the species. Description The maxilla is in length; including missing portions it would have been about long if complete. The inner surface of the maxilla is deeply concave but the outer surface has several scattered pits as well as deep facets above the third and fifth teeth. These facets are reminiscent of those which sphenodonts possess on the lower jaw due to abrasion from teeth of the upper jaw, but this cannot be the case in ''Lamarquesaurus'''s maxilla. This is ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Homoeosaurus
''Homoeosaurus'' is an extinct genus of sphenodont reptile. It was found in limestone in Bavaria, Germany, as well as in France and the United Kingdom. It was related to the modern tuatara, though it was a considerably more gracile. There were several species varying greatly in size and morphology.G. A. Boulenger, (1891) On British Remains of ''Homœosaurus'', with Remarks on the Classification of the Rhynchocephalia Rhynchocephalia (; ) is an order of lizard-like reptiles that includes only one living species, the tuatara (''Sphenodon punctatus'') of New Zealand. Despite its current lack of diversity, during the Mesozoic rhynchocephalians were a diverse gr .... Article in ''Journal of Zoology'' 59(1):167 - 172. DOI: 10.1111/j.1469-7998.1891.tb06820.x References Jurassic lepidosaurs Sphenodontia Solnhofen fauna Late Jurassic reptiles of Europe Prehistoric reptile genera {{jurassic-reptile-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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