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2021 In Reptile Paleontology
This list of fossil reptiles described in 2021 is a list of new taxa of fossil reptiles that were described during the year 2021, as well as other significant discoveries and events related to reptile paleontology that occurred in 2021. Squamates New taxa Research * A study on the evolution of tooth complexity in squamates, based on data from extant and fossil taxa, is published by Lafuma ''et al.'' (2021). * A study on the diversity of jaw sizes, lower jaw shape and morphology of teeth in Cretaceous squamates is published by Herrera-Flores, Stubbs & Benton (2021), who interpret their findings as indicating that a substantial expansion of ecomorphological diversity of squamates occurred in the mid-Cretaceous, 110–90 Ma, before the first rise in taxonomic diversity of this group in the Campanian. * A study on the dietary preferences of lizards from the Upper Cretaceous Iharkút vertebrate locality (Hungary) is published by Gere ''et al.'' (2021). * A study on the locomotion o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fossil
A fossil (from Classical Latin , ) is any preserved remains, impression, or trace of any once-living thing from a past geological age. Examples include bones, shells, exoskeletons, stone imprints of animals or microbes, objects preserved in amber, hair, petrified wood and DNA remnants. The totality of fossils is known as the ''fossil record''. Paleontology is the study of fossils: their age, method of formation, and evolutionary significance. Specimens are usually considered to be fossils if they are over 10,000 years old. The oldest fossils are around 3.48 billion years old to 4.1 billion years old. Early edition, published online before print. The observation in the 19th century that certain fossils were associated with certain rock strata led to the recognition of a geological timescale and the relative ages of different fossils. The development of radiometric dating techniques in the early 20th century allowed scientists to quantitatively measure the abs ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Elgaria
''Elgaria'' is a genus of New World lizards in the family Anguidae. Their common name is western alligator lizards. Geographic range Species in the genus ''Elgaria'' are distributed in western North America, from Mexico to Canada. Species There are seven species: ''Nota bene'': A binomial authority In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ... in parentheses indicates that the species was originally described in a genus other than ''Elgaria''. References Further reading * Gray JE (1838). Catalogue of the Slender-tongued Saurians, with Descriptions of many new Genera and Species. ''Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist., First Series'' 1: 274–283, 388–394. (''Elgaria'', new genus, p. 390). *Gray JE (1845). ''Catalogue of the Specimens of Lizards in the Collection of the British ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cenomanian
The Cenomanian is, in the ICS' geological timescale, the oldest or earliest age of the Late Cretaceous Epoch or the lowest stage of the Upper Cretaceous Series. An age is a unit of geochronology; it is a unit of time; the stage is a unit in the stratigraphic column deposited during the corresponding age. Both age and stage bear the same name. As a unit of geologic time measure, the Cenomanian Age spans the time between 100.5 and 93.9 million years ago (Mya). In the geologic timescale, it is preceded by the Albian and is followed by the Turonian. The Upper Cenomanian starts around at 95 Mya. The Cenomanian is coeval with the Woodbinian of the regional timescale of the Gulf of Mexico and the early part of the Eaglefordian of the regional timescale of the East Coast of the United States. At the end of the Cenomanian, an anoxic event took place, called the Cenomanian-Turonian boundary event or the "Bonarelli event", that is associated with a minor extinction event for ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Oculudentavis
''Oculudentavis'' is an extinct genus of lizard of uncertain taxonomic placement,Bolet et al., 2021 originally identified as an avialan dinosaur (bird, in the broad sense). It contains two known species, ''O. khaungraae'' and ''O. naga''. Each species is known from one partial fossil specimen in Burmese amber, which differ in several proportions. Their skulls measure in length, indicating that ''Oculudentavis'' would have been comparable in size with the modern bee hummingbird if it were an avialan. Both specimens were retrieved from 99-million-year-old deposits of the Hukawng Basin in Kachin State, northern Myanmar. The type specimen of ''O. khaungraae'' is embroiled in controversy regarding its identity and the ethical issues surrounding the acquisition and study of Burmese amber. The original description advocating for an avialan identity was published in ''Nature'', but has since then been retracted from the journal.Xing et al., 2020 retraction Discovery and naming ''O ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Monstersauria
Monstersauria is a clade of anguimorph lizards, defined as all taxa more closely related to ''Heloderma'' than '' Varanus''. It includes ''Heloderma'', as well as several extinct genera, such as ''Estesia'', '' Primaderma'' and ''Gobiderma'', but it was found to be polyphyletic in the most recent and complete squamate phylogenetic analysis by Reeder ''et al.'' (2015). Classification Traditionally, Monstersauria was thought to include the modern Helodermatidae along with fossil genera such as ''Gobiderma'' and ''Estesia'' on the finding that it was a sister to Varanidae. But in more recent years, such as 2004 and 2008, more precise molecular studies have shown that the extant ''Heloderma'' is closer to Anguidae & kin than to Varanoidea. A large-scale integrated analysis on squamate phylogeny incorporating 737 characters of morphological and molecular data in 2015 analyzed the traditionally-monstersaurian fossil taxa along with the rest of the dataset, and what it found was a well ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Early Cretaceous
The Early Cretaceous (geochronological name) or the Lower Cretaceous ( chronostratigraphic name), is the earlier or lower of the two major divisions of the Cretaceous. It is usually considered to stretch from 145 Ma to 100.5 Ma. Geology Proposals for the exact age of the Barremian-Aptian boundary ranged from 126 to 117 Ma until recently (as of 2019), but based on drillholes in Svalbard the defining early Aptian Oceanic Anoxic Event 1a (OAE1a) was carbon isotope dated to 123.1±0.3 Ma, limiting the possible range for the boundary to c. 122–121 Ma. There is a possible link between this anoxic event and a series of Early Cretaceous large igneous provinces (LIP). The Ontong Java- Manihiki- Hikurangi large igneous province, emplaced in the South Pacific at c. 120 Ma, is by far the largest LIP in Earth's history. The Ontong Java Plateau today covers an area of 1,860,000 km2. In the Indian Ocean another LIP began to form at c. 120 Ma, the Kergue ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Morohasaurus
''Morohasaurus'' is an extinct genus of ''cf.'' monstersaurian squamates know from a single left dentary from the Early Cretaceous (? Albian) Ohyamashimo Formation of the Sasayama Group in Tamba City, Hyogo Prefecture, Japan. The type and only species is ''Morohasaurus kamitakiensis.'' As of 2021, Ikeda ''et al.'' place this taxon ''a conferatur'' within Monstersauria based on general synapomorphies but without performing a phylogenetic analysis. The unique characters described in the paper to distinguish ''Morohasaurus kamitakiensis'' as a valid species include "the sinuous posteroventral rim of the dentary with a large U-shaped upper notch and small V-shaped lower notch, posteroventral corner of intramandibular septum with a weakly pointed eminence projecting posteriorly, and unicuspid, curved trenchant teeth with distinct blade-like carinae ''Carinae'' was an area of ancient Rome. It was one of its most exclusive neighborhoods, where many of the senatorial class live ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Curly-tailed Lizard
Leiocephalidae, also known as the curlytail lizards or curly-tailed lizards, is a family of iguanian lizards restricted to the West Indies. One of the defining features of these lizards is that their tail often curls over. They were previously regarded as members of the subfamily Leiocephalinae within the family Tropiduridae. There are presently 29 known species, all in the genus ''Leiocephalus''. Taxonomy Phylogenetic evidence supports Leiocephalidae being the most basal extant member of the clade Pleurodonta, with it diverging from the rest of the suborder as early as the Late Cretaceous, about 91 million years ago. As with many other higher-order taxa endemic to the Caribbean, it likely colonized the Antilles from South America during the Cenozoic; however, its deep divergence time from other lizards supports a much more complex and less straightforward history in the West Indies compared to other modern taxa. Phylogenetic analysis on the genus supports some membe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
La Désirade
La Désirade is an island in the French West Indies, in the Lesser Antilles of the Caribbean. It forms part of Guadeloupe, an overseas region of France. History Archaeological evidence has been discovered that suggests that an Amerindian population lived on La Désirade from the 3rd to the 16th centuries. Spanish colonization Deseada was the first island sighted by Christopher Columbus in 1493. When he landed there during his second voyage to America, he took possession of the island on behalf of the Spanish crown, followed by the island of Marie-Galante. Like other Antillean islands, it served as a hideout for pirates or corsairs who attacked Spanish overseas possessions. Some sources indicate that the island owes its name to the relief of the members of Columbus crew who saw the first dry land since leaving the Canary Islands of Spain. They cried out: "Oh, desired island" The French name ''La Désirade'' is an adaptation of its historical name in Spanish (''La Deseada' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Leiocephalus Roquetus
''Leiocephalus roquetus'', also known as the curlytail roquet or La Désirade curlytail lizard, is an extinct species of lizard in the family of curly-tailed lizard (Leiocephalidae). It was endemic to Guadeloupe. The specific epithet, ''roquetus'', refers to the name it was given by early French settlers on Guadeloupe; the indigenous Kalinago name for the species was never recorded. Aside from fossil remains, it is only known from a single specimen collected by one Théodore Roger, who deposited it circa 1835 at the Natural History Museum in Bordeaux; this specimen was misidentified in the mid-20th century as a Martinique curlytail (''L. herminieri''). The specimen was reexamined in 2015, and with the help of extensive ''Leiocephalus'' fossil remains discovered on La Désirade in 2018, was found to be a distinct species, and described as ''L. roquetus'' in 2021. This species, along with ''L.. herminieri'', displays a primitive morphology compared to all other known species of ''L ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Heterodon
''Heterodon'' is a genus of harmless colubrid snakes endemic to North America.Platt, Dwight R. 1983. Heterodon'. Catalogue of American Amphibians and Reptiles. Society for the Study of Amphibians and Reptiles, 351: 1-2. They are stout with upturned snouts and are perhaps best known for their characteristic threat displays. Three species are currently recognized. Members of the genus are commonly known as hognose snakes, hog-nosed snakes, Wright AH, Wright AA. 1957. ''Handbook of Snakes of the United States and Canada''. Ithaca and London: Comstock Publishing Associates. (7th printing, 1985). 1,105 pp. (in 2 volumes) . (Genus ''Heterodon'', p. 296 + Figure 25 on p. 81 + Map 28 on p. 298.) North American hog-nosed snakes, and colloquially as puff adders (though they should not be confused with the venomous African vipers of the genus '' Bitis''). Description Adults grow to in total length. The body is stout and the head is slightly distinct from the neck. The latter is ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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