Askeptosauroidea
Askeptosauroidea is a superfamily of thalattosaurs, a Triassic group of marine reptiles. Askeptosauroidea is one of two major subgroups of Thalattosauria, the other being Thalattosauroidea. It includes the family Askeptosauridae and a more basal form called '' Endennasaurus''. Phylogeny Below is a cladogram from Wu ''et al.'' (2009) showing the phylogenetic In biology, phylogenetics (; from Greek φυλή/ φῦλον [] "tribe, clan, race", and wikt:γενετικός, γενετικός [] "origin, source, birth") is the study of the evolutionary history and relationships among or within groups o ... relationships of Askeptosauroidea: References Thalattosaurs Triassic first appearances Triassic extinctions {{triassic-reptile-stub ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Thalattosaur
Thalattosauria (Attic Greek, Greek for "sea lizards") is an extinct Order (biology), order of prehistoric marine reptiles that lived in the middle to late Triassic period. Thalattosaurs were diverse in size and shape, and are divided into two superfamilies: Askeptosauroidea and Thalattosauroidea. Askeptosauroids were endemic to the Tethys Ocean, their fossils have been found in Europe and China, and they were likely semiaquatic fish eaters with straight snouts and decent terrestrial abilities. Thalattosauroids were more specialized for aquatic life and most had unusual downturned snouts and crushing dentition. Thalattosauroids lived along the coasts of both Panthalassa and the Tethys Ocean, and were most diverse in China and western North America. The largest species of thalattosaurs grew to over 4 meters (13 feet) in length, including a long, flattened tail utilized in underwater propulsion. Although thalattosaurs bore a superficial resemblance to lizards, their exact relation ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Thalattosaurs
Thalattosauria (Greek for "sea lizards") is an extinct order of prehistoric marine reptiles that lived in the middle to late Triassic period. Thalattosaurs were diverse in size and shape, and are divided into two superfamilies: Askeptosauroidea and Thalattosauroidea. Askeptosauroids were endemic to the Tethys Ocean, their fossils have been found in Europe and China, and they were likely semiaquatic fish eaters with straight snouts and decent terrestrial abilities. Thalattosauroids were more specialized for aquatic life and most had unusual downturned snouts and crushing dentition. Thalattosauroids lived along the coasts of both Panthalassa and the Tethys Ocean, and were most diverse in China and western North America. The largest species of thalattosaurs grew to over 4 meters (13 feet) in length, including a long, flattened tail utilized in underwater propulsion. Although thalattosaurs bore a superficial resemblance to lizards, their exact relationships are unresolved. They ar ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Thalattosauria
Thalattosauria ( Greek for "sea lizards") is an extinct order of prehistoric marine reptiles that lived in the middle to late Triassic period. Thalattosaurs were diverse in size and shape, and are divided into two superfamilies: Askeptosauroidea and Thalattosauroidea. Askeptosauroids were endemic to the Tethys Ocean, their fossils have been found in Europe and China, and they were likely semiaquatic fish eaters with straight snouts and decent terrestrial abilities. Thalattosauroids were more specialized for aquatic life and most had unusual downturned snouts and crushing dentition. Thalattosauroids lived along the coasts of both Panthalassa and the Tethys Ocean, and were most diverse in China and western North America. The largest species of thalattosaurs grew to over 4 meters (13 feet) in length, including a long, flattened tail utilized in underwater propulsion. Although thalattosaurs bore a superficial resemblance to lizards, their exact relationships are unresolved. Th ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Askeptosaurus
''Askeptosaurus'' is an extinct genus of askeptosauroid, a marine reptile from the extinct order Thalattosauria. ''Askeptosaurus'' is known from several well-preserved fossils found in Middle Triassic marine strata in what is now Italy and Switzerland. History of discovery ''Askeptosaurus,'' and its only known species ''Askeptosaurus italicus,'' were first named and described in 1925 by Hungarian paleontologist Franz Nopcsa von Felső-Szilvás. It was most recently redescribed by Dr. Johannes Müller in 2005. ''Askeptosaurus'' is known from several disarticulated and articulated skeletons preserved at the MSNM (Museo Civico di Storia Naturale di Milano) in Milan, Italy, and the PIMUZ ( Paläontologisches Institut und Museum der Universität Zürich) in Zürich, Switzerland. These specimens were discovered in the Grenzbitumenzone of Monte San Giorgio, a UNESCO World Heritage Site on the Swiss-Italian border. Also known as the Besano Formation in Italy, the Grenzbitumenzone h ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Askeptosauridae
Askeptosauridae is a family of thalattosaurs within the superfamily Askeptosauroidea. Fossils have been found from Italy, Switzerland, and China. Askeptosaurids are distinguished from other thalattosaurs by their long necks and narrow skulls. Classification Askeptosauridae was named in 1952 to include the genus ''Askeptosaurus''. In 2000, the genus '' Anshunsaurus'', which includes two species, was added to the family. In a 2005 phylogenetic analysis, '' Endennasaurus'' was included within Askeptosauridae. Later that year a new study placed ''Endennasaurus'' outside Askeptosauridae as a basal member of Askeptosauroidea. More recent studies have placed the genus '' Miodentosaurus'' from China in the family as well. Below is a cladogram A cladogram (from Greek ''clados'' "branch" and ''gramma'' "character") is a diagram used in cladistics to show relations among organisms. A cladogram is not, however, an evolutionary tree because it does not show how ancestors are related ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Thalattosauroidea
Thalattosauroidea is a superfamily of thalattosaurs, a Triassic group of marine reptiles. It was named in 1904 by paleontologist John Campbell Merriam to include the genus '' Thalattosaurus'' from California. Thalattosauroids are one of two groups of Thalattosauria, the other being Askeptosauroidea. Thalattosauroids make up the "traditional" thalattosaurs with large downturned snouts, short necks, and long, paddle-like tails. Classification Thalattosauria includes North American genera such as ''Thalattosaurus'' and ''Nectosaurus'' as well as recently described Chinese forms such as ''Xinpusaurus''. A 1999 study of thalattosaurs, which established much of the currently accepted phylogeny of the group, referred to Thalattosauroidea as Thalattosauria, while calling the larger group Thalattosauriformes. More recent phylogenetic studies have come upon the same conclusions, but refer to the group as Thalattosauroidea in order to contrast it with another superfamily of thalattosaurs, ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Miodentosaurus
''Miodentosaurus'' is a genus of thalattosaurian (a type of extinct marine reptile) from the Late Triassic of China. It is one of several thalattosaurs found in the Xiaowa Formation, also known as the Wayao Member of the Falang Formation. The genus name "''Miodentosaurus''" translates to "Few toothed-lizard" while the species name "''brevis''" means "short", in reference to its short snout. Description ''Miodentosaurus'' is a thalattosaur, a group of marine reptiles with long, paddle-like tails and short legs with independently movable digits. It was a large member of the group, with a complete specimen measuring long. ''Miodentosaurus'' is specifically an Askeptosauroid, a specific group of thalattosaurs with rather straight snouts. Despite being closely related to ''Askeptosaurus'' (a thalattosaur with a very long and toothy snout), ''Miodentosaurus'' had a quite short snout (shorter than the rest of the head) with only a few conical teeth on the premaxillae and dentaries ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Anshunsaurus
''Anshunsaurus'' is a genus of thalattosaurs within the family Askeptosauridae. Fossils have been found from Middle Triassic deposits in Guizhou, China. Three species are known: the type species ''A. huangguoshuensis'' (named in 1999), the slightly older species ''A. wushaensis'' (named in 2006), and the species ''A. huangnihensis'' (named in 2007). Description and species ''Anshunsaurus'' was a marine reptile with a long neck, slender skull, and long, paddle-like tail. In comparison to its long trunk, the limbs are very small. ''Anshunsaurus'' is characterized by a long jugal bone in the skull, fused postorbital and postfrontal bones around the eyes, a maxilla that forms part of the margin of the eye socket, a humerus with large crests, and a large fibula. The type species of ''Anshunsaurus'', ''A. huangguoshuensis'', was named in 1999 from the Ladinian or Carnian age Falang Formation in Guanling County. Although several complete skeletons are known, most specimens are crushed i ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Anisian
In the geologic timescale, the Anisian is the lower stage or earliest age of the Middle Triassic series or epoch and lasted from million years ago until million years ago. The Anisian Age succeeds the Olenekian Age (part of the Lower Triassic Epoch) and precedes the Ladinian Age. Stratigraphic definitions The stage and its name were established by Austrian geologists Wilhelm Heinrich Waagen and Carl Diener in 1895. The name comes from ''Anisus'', the Latin name of the river Enns. The original type locality is at Großreifling in the Austrian state of Styria. The base of the Anisian Stage (also the base of the Middle Triassic series) is sometimes laid at the first appearance of conodont species ''Chiosella timorensis'' in the stratigraphic record. Other stratigraphers prefer to use the base of magnetic chronozone MT1n. There is no accepted global reference profile for the base, but one ( GSSP or golden spike) was proposed at a flank of the mountain Deşli Caira in th ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Cladogram
A cladogram (from Greek ''clados'' "branch" and ''gramma'' "character") is a diagram used in cladistics to show relations among organisms. A cladogram is not, however, an 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 evolutionary narratives about an ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Phylogenetic
In biology, phylogenetics (; from Greek φυλή/ φῦλον [] "tribe, clan, race", and wikt:γενετικός, γενετικός [] "origin, source, birth") is the study of the evolutionary history and relationships among or within groups of organisms. These relationships are determined by Computational phylogenetics, phylogenetic inference methods that focus on observed heritable traits, such as DNA sequences, protein amino acid sequences, or morphology. The result of such an analysis is a phylogenetic tree—a diagram containing a hypothesis of relationships that reflects the evolutionary history of a group of organisms. The tips of a phylogenetic tree can be living taxa or fossils, and represent the "end" or the present time in an evolutionary lineage. A phylogenetic diagram can be rooted or unrooted. A rooted tree diagram indicates the hypothetical common ancestor of the tree. An unrooted tree diagram (a network) makes no assumption about the ancestral line, and does ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Family (biology)
Family ( la, familia, plural ') is one of the eight major hierarchical taxonomic ranks in Linnaean taxonomy. It is classified between order and genus. A family may be divided into subfamilies, which are intermediate ranks between the ranks of family and genus. The official family names are Latin in origin; however, popular names are often used: for example, walnut trees and hickory trees belong to the family Juglandaceae, but that family is commonly referred to as the "walnut family". What belongs to a family—or if a described family should be recognized at all—are proposed and determined by practicing taxonomists. There are no hard rules for describing or recognizing a family, but in plants, they can be characterized on the basis of both vegetative and reproductive features of plant species. Taxonomists often take different positions about descriptions, and there may be no broad consensus across the scientific community for some time. The publishing of new data and opi ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |