Parvosaurus
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''Parvosaurus'' is an extinct species of
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 speciose g ...
n reptile known from the Late Triassic of Germany.


Discovery

The specimen was discovered in the rock surrounding a specimen of ''
Plateosaurus ''Plateosaurus'' (probably meaning "broad lizard", often mistranslated as "flat lizard") is a genus of plateosaurid dinosaur that lived during the Late Triassic period, around 214 to 204 million years ago, in what is now Central and Northern Eu ...
'' that had been collected from a brick pit located in
Saxony-Anhalt Saxony-Anhalt ( ; ) is a States of Germany, state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony, Thuringia and Lower Saxony. It covers an area of and has a population of 2.17 million inhabitants, making it the List of German states ...
between
Halberstadt Halberstadt (; Eastphalian dialect, Eastphalian: ''Halverstidde'') is a town in the state of Saxony-Anhalt in central Germany, the capital of Harz (district), Harz district. Located north of the Harz mountain range, it is known for its old town ...
and
Quedlinburg Quedlinburg () is a town situated just north of the Harz mountains, in the Harz (district), district of Harz in the west of Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. As an influential and prosperous trading centre during the early Middle Ages, Quedlinburg becam ...
on the Bundesstraße 79 highway in sediments belonging to the Late Triassic (
Norian The Norian is a division of the Triassic geological period, Period. It has the rank of an age (geology), age (geochronology) or stage (stratigraphy), stage (chronostratigraphy). It lasted from ~227.3 to Mya (unit), million years ago. It was prec ...
) Arnstadt Formation by
Werner Janensch Werner Ernst Martin Janensch (11 November 1878 – 20 October 1969) was a German paleontologist and geologist. Biography Janensch was born at Herzberg (Elster). In addition to Friedrich von Huene, Janensch was probably Germany's most ...
in 1928. The specimen was not discovered until the block was CT scanned as part of the redescription of the small reptile ''
Elachistosuchus ''Elachistosuchus'' is an extinct genus of neodiapsid reptile, most likely basal archosauromorph, known from the Late Triassic Arnstadt Formation of Saxony-Anhalt, central Germany. It contains a single species, ''Elachistosuchus huenei'', kn ...
'' in 2015.


Description

The species is only known from a skull and partial lower jaws. The skull has been compressed during fossilization. The specimen is thought to be a juvenile, as it has relatively large eyes and is small in size, with the skull only being around in length, comparable to that of ''
Diphydontosaurus ''Diphydontosaurus'' is an extinct genus of small Rhynchocephalia, rhynchocephalian reptile from the Late Triassic of Europe. It is the most primitive known member of Sphenodontia. Description ''Diphydontosaurus'' was one of the smallest spheno ...
''. The dentition is very similar to that of ''Diphydontosaurus.''


Taxonomy

''Parvosaurus'' was placed as a basal sphenodontian by its describers, more derived than ''
Diphydontosaurus ''Diphydontosaurus'' is an extinct genus of small Rhynchocephalia, rhynchocephalian reptile from the Late Triassic of Europe. It is the most primitive known member of Sphenodontia. Description ''Diphydontosaurus'' was one of the smallest spheno ...
'' but less derived than ''
Planocephalosaurus ''Planocephalosaurus'' is an extinct genus of basal rhynchocephalian. Fossils of the genus are primarily known from fissure fill deposits from the Late Triassic of southwest Britain, with fragmentary remains possibly belonging to the genus also k ...
'':


References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q125101603 Rhynchocephalia Norian genera Monotypic prehistoric reptile genera Fossils of Germany Fossil taxa described in 2024