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Scincomorph
Scincomorpha is an infraorder and clade of lizards including skinks (Scincidae) and their close relatives. These include the living families Cordylidae (girdled lizards), Gerrhosauridae (plated lizards), and Xantusiidae (night lizards), as well as many extinct taxa. Other roughly equivalent terms include the suborder Scinciformata, or the superfamily Scincoidea, though different authors use these terms in a broader or more restricted usage relative to true skinks. They first appear in the fossil record about 170 million years ago, during the Jurassic The Jurassic ( ) is a Geological period, geologic period and System (stratigraphy), stratigraphic system that spanned from the end of the Triassic Period million years ago (Mya) to the beginning of the Cretaceous Period, approximately 143.1 Mya. ... period.Evans, S.E. and Jones, M.E.H. (2010). "The Origin, Early History and Diversification of Lepidosauromorph Reptiles," pp. 27-44 in Bandyopadhyay, S. (ed.), ''New Aspects of Mesoz ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Paramacellodidae
Paramacellodidae is an extinct family of lizards that first appeared in the Middle Jurassic around 170 million years ago (Ma) and became extinct at the end of the Cretaceous around 66 Ma. It was one of the earliest groups of lizards to have undergone an evolutionary radiation, with members found across the supercontinent Laurasia. The phylogenetic relationships and constituent species of Paramacellodidae are uncertain. Many studies regard them to be scincomorphs, a large group that includes skinks and their closest extinct relatives, and possibly also to Cordyoidea, a group that includes spinytail lizards and relatives. Like modern skinks, paramacelloidids had rectangular bony plates called osteoderms covering most of their bodies, including their backs, undersides, and tails. They also had short and robust limbs. Paramacellodids are distinguished from other lizards by the combination two traits in their dentition, the teeth are labiolingually expanded at their bases, and the to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Deccansaurus
''Deccansaurus'' ("Deccan Traps lizard") is an extinct genus of scincomorphan (potentially a stem- cordyliform) lizard from the latest Cretaceous or earliest Paleocene of India. A single species is known, ''D. paleoindicus'', represented by jaws and some osteoderm fragments from the Intertrappean Beds of the Dhar district in Madhya Pradesh. The morphology of ''Deccansaurus'' suggests that it was a distant relative of modern skinks. In addition, it shares close similarities with members of the clade Cordyliformes (represented in the modern day by Cordylidae and Gerrhosauridae from mainland Africa and Madagascar), which would potentially mark the first occurrence of this group from the Indian subcontinent The Indian subcontinent is a physiographic region of Asia below the Himalayas which projects into the Indian Ocean between the Bay of Bengal to the east and the Arabian Sea to the west. It is now divided between Bangladesh, India, and Pakista ..., which at the time was an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Skink
Skinks are a type of lizard belonging to the family (biology), family Scincidae, a family in the Taxonomic rank, infraorder Scincomorpha. With more than 1,500 described species across 100 different taxonomic genera, the family Scincidae is one of the most diverse families of lizards. Skinks are characterized by their smaller legs in comparison to typical lizards and are found in different habitats except arctic and subarctic regions. Etymology The word ''skink'', which entered the English language around 1580–1590, comes from classical Greek and Latin , names that referred to various specific lizards. Description Skinks look like lizards of the family Lacertidae (sometimes called ''true lizards''), but most species of skinks have no pronounced neck and relatively small legs. Several genera (e.g., ''Typhlosaurus'') have no limbs at all. This is not true for all skinks, however, as some species such as the Tribolonotus gracilis, red-eyed crocodile skink have a head that is ve ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Globauridae ...
Globauridae is a family of extinct scincomorph lizards that first appeared in the Late Jurassic of England and persisting until the Late Cretaceous of Mongolia. The group is distinguished by having a diploglossopalatinar palate anatomy, lacking osteoderms, having conical two- or three-cusped teeth, and a unique postorbital- parietal contact. The type genus '' Globaura'' was originally classified within the now-polyphyletic group Lacertoidea, before being reclassified within its own family within Ardeosauroidea. However, ''Meyasaurus'' has also been found to be closer to Barbatteiidae. References {{Taxonbar, from=Q33136065 Scincomorpha Jurassic lizards Cretaceous lizards † A dagger, obelisk, or obelus is a typographical mark that usually indicates a footnote if an asterisk has already been used. The symbol is also used to indicate death (of people) or extinction (of species or languages). It is one of the mo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Retinosaurus
''Retinosaurus'' (meaning "amber lizard") is an extinct genus of scincomorph lizard from the Early Cretaceous of Myanmar. The genus contains a single species, ''Retinosaurus hkamtiensis'', known from a specimen preserved in amber. Discovery and naming The holotype specimen, GRS 29689, was legally obtained from a Myanmar gem dealer in 2019. It was subsequently announced in a preprint in October 2021, and validly described as a new genus and species of lizard by Čerňanský et al. in January 2022. The fossil was discovered in the Hkamti amber site of Myanmar, which dates to the early Albian, approximately 110 million years ago. The holotype, which represents a juvenile individual, includes a well-preserved articulated skull, partial postcrania, and skin impressions. In addition to the lizard fossil material, the amber also contains several coleopterans. The generic name, "''Retinosaurus''", is derived from the Greek words "retine", referring to liquid resins created by ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Slavoiidae
''Slavoia'' is an extinct genus of lizard from the Early Cretaceous of Mongolia ( Dzunbain Formation), and Late Cretaceous of Kazakhstan ( Bostobe Formation) and Mongolia ( Barun Goyot Formation and Djadochta Formation). There is only a single species ''S. darevskii,''Sulimski, A. (1984). A new Cretaceous scincomorph lizard from Mongolia. ''Palaeontologia Polonica'' 46:143-155 and ''Slavoia'' has been suggested to be the oldest known relative of amphisbaenians. Description The structure of the skull of ''Slavoia'' suggests that it may have had a fossorial (burrowing) lifestyle, and when fully grown, it likely grew up to long. ''Slavoia'' is known from several specimens including the holotype ZPAL MgR-I/8, mostly made up of incomplete skulls and skeletons, and it has therefore been possible to reconstruct its appearance. ''Slavoia'' is characterized by a skull with a very compact structure, and the orbits were small, the parietal hole was small or non-existent. The teeth, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sciroseps
''Sciroseps'' is an extinct genus of scincomorph squamates known from a partial left mandible, UA-2016-13-294, from the Early Cretaceous (Albian) Holly Creek Formation of the Trinity Group in Arkansas, USA. The type and only species is ''Sciroseps pawhuskai''. Its generic name is derived from Greek ''"σκυρος: skiros" (gypsum),'' and ''"σεπος: sepos" (lizard or snake);'' and its species name refers to historic Osage chief Pawhuska. ''Sciroseps'' is thought to be related to a clade containing the extinct Paramacellodidae and the extant Cordylidae Cordylidae is a family of small- to medium-sized lizards that occur in southern and eastern Africa. They are commonly known as girdled lizards, spinytail lizards, or girdle-tail lizards. Cordylidae is closely related to the family Gerrhosaurida .... Suarez ''et al.'' list the defining autapomorphies for this taxon as a more gracile and convex dentary, less robust and shorter subdental laminae, dental coronae lacking lin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Carusiidae
''Carusia'' is an extinct genus of lizards from the Late Cretaceous of Mongolia. It is a close relative of the family Xenosauridae, which includes living knob-scaled lizards. Fossils of the type and only species ''Carusia intermedia'' come from the late-Campanian age Barun Goyot Formation and have been found in the Flaming Cliffs, Ukhaa Tolgod, and Kheerman Tsav fossil localities. ''Carusia'' was first described in 1985 under the name ''Carolina intermedia'', but since the name ''Carolina'' was preoccupied by a genus of scarab beetles that had been named in 1880, it was renamed ''Carusia intermedia''. ''Carusia'' had initially been known from fragmentary skull material, complicating efforts to determine its evolutionary relationships with other lizards; it had variously been described as an indeterminate scincomorph, a xenosaurid, or some other type of autarchoglossan lizard convergent with xenosaurids. However, the discovery of 35 complete skulls in the 1990s, three of which ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Suborder
Order () is one of the eight major hierarchical taxonomic ranks in Linnaean taxonomy. It is classified between family and class. In biological classification, the order is a taxonomic rank used in the classification of organisms and recognized by the nomenclature codes. An immediately higher rank, superorder, is sometimes added directly above order, with suborder directly beneath order. An order can also be defined as a group of related families. What does and does not belong to each order is determined by a taxonomist, as is whether a particular order should be recognized at all. Often there is no exact agreement, with different taxonomists each taking a different position. There are no hard rules that a taxonomist needs to follow in describing or recognizing an order. Some taxa are accepted almost universally, while others are recognized only rarely. The name of an order is usually written with a capital letter. For some groups of organisms, their orders may follow consistent ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Superfamily (taxonomy)
In biology, taxonomic rank (which some authors prefer to call nomenclatural rank because ranking is part of nomenclature rather than taxonomy proper, according to some definitions of these terms) is the relative or absolute level of a group of organisms (a ''taxon'') in a hierarchy that reflects evolutionary relationships. Thus, the most inclusive clades (such as Eukarya and Animalia) have the highest ranks, whereas the least inclusive ones (such as ''Homo sapiens'' or ''Bufo bufo'') have the lowest ranks. Ranks can be either relative and be denoted by an indented taxonomy in which the level of indentation reflects the rank, or absolute, in which various terms, such as species, genus, family, order, class, phylum, kingdom, and domain designate rank. This page emphasizes absolute ranks and the rank-based codes (the Zoological Code, the Botanical Code, the Code for Cultivated Plants, the Prokaryotic Code, and thCode for Viruses require them. However, absolute ranks are not req ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jurassic
The Jurassic ( ) is a Geological period, geologic period and System (stratigraphy), stratigraphic system that spanned from the end of the Triassic Period million years ago (Mya) to the beginning of the Cretaceous Period, approximately 143.1 Mya. The Jurassic constitutes the second and middle period of the Mesozoic, Mesozoic Era as well as the eighth period of the Phanerozoic, Phanerozoic Eon and is named after the Jura Mountains, where limestone strata from the period were first identified. The start of the Jurassic was marked by the major Triassic–Jurassic extinction event, associated with the eruption of the Central Atlantic magmatic province, Central Atlantic Magmatic Province (CAMP). The beginning of the Toarcian Age started around 183 million years ago and is marked by the Toarcian Oceanic Anoxic Event, a global episode of Anoxic event, oceanic anoxia, ocean acidification, and elevated global temperatures associated with extinctions, likely caused by the eruption of the Kar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Middle Jurassic
The Middle Jurassic is the second Epoch (geology), epoch of the Jurassic Period (geology), Period. It lasted from about 174.1 to 161.5 million years ago. Fossils of land-dwelling animals, such as dinosaurs, from the Middle Jurassic are relatively rare, but geological formations containing land animal fossils include the Forest Marble Formation in England, the Kilmaluag Formation in Scotland,British Geological Survey. 2011Stratigraphic framework for the Middle Jurassic strata of Great Britain and the adjoining continental shelf: research report RR/11/06 British Geological Survey, Keyworth, Nottingham. the Calcaire de Caen of France, the Daohugou Beds in China, the Itat Formation in Russia, the Tiouraren Formation of Niger, and the Isalo III Formation of western Madagascar. Rocks of the Middle Jurassic were formerly (until about 1980s) in Europe called ''Dogger'' or ''Brown Jurassic''. Paleogeography During the Middle Jurassic Epoch, Pangaea began to separate into Laurasia and Gond ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
