Tuditanidae is an extinct

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

microsauria Microsauria is an Extinction, extinct, possibly polyphyletic Order (biology), order of tetrapods from the late Carboniferous and early Permian periods. It is the most diverse and species-rich group of lepospondyls. Recently, Microsauria has been ...

tetrapod A tetrapod (; from Ancient Greek :wiktionary:τετρα-#Ancient Greek, τετρα- ''(tetra-)'' 'four' and :wiktionary:πούς#Ancient Greek, πούς ''(poús)'' 'foot') is any four-Limb (anatomy), limbed vertebrate animal of the clade Tetr ...

s. Fossils have been found from

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, located on its east coast. It is one of the three Maritime Canada, Maritime provinces and Population of Canada by province and territory, most populous province in Atlan ...

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

, and the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

and are

Late Carboniferous Late or LATE may refer to: Everyday usage * Tardy, or late, not being on time * Late (or the late) may refer to a person who is dead Music * Late (The 77s album), ''Late'' (The 77s album), 2000 * Late (Alvin Batiste album), 1993 * Late!, a pseudo ...

in age. Tuditanids were medium-sized terrestrial microsaurs that resembled

lizard Lizard is the common name used for all Squamata, squamate reptiles other than snakes (and to a lesser extent amphisbaenians), encompassing over 7,000 species, ranging across all continents except Antarctica, as well as most Island#Oceanic isla ...

s. Postcranial material is best known from the genus ''

Tuditanus ''Tuditanus'' is an extinct genus of tuditanid microsaur from the Carboniferous The Carboniferous ( ) is a Geologic time scale, geologic period and System (stratigraphy), system of the Paleozoic era (geology), era that spans 60 million years ...

'', showing that it had size, proportions, and skull configuration that were similar to

captorhinids Captorhinidae is an extinct family of tetrapods, traditionally considered primitive reptiles, known from the late Carboniferous to the Late Permian. They had a cosmopolitan distribution across Pangea. Description Captorhinids are a clade of sm ...

. Tuditanids have also developed an

astragalus Astragalus may refer to: * ''Astragalus'' (plant), a large genus of herbs and small shrubs *Astragalus (bone) The talus (; Latin for ankle or ankle bone; : tali), talus bone, astragalus (), or ankle bone is one of the group of foot bones known ...

in the ankle (a reptilian feature) from the fusion of several other bones. Tuditanus punctulatus Williston

In comparison to other microsaurs, tuditanids were short-bodied, with fewer than 30 presacral vertebrae. The limbs are large and well developed. Unlike other microsaurs such as

gymnarthrids Gymnarthridae is an extinct family of the group Recumbirostra. Gymnarthrids are known from Europe and North America and existed from the Late Carboniferous through the Early Permian. Remains have been found from the Czech Republic, Nova Scotia, I ...

, the jaw articulation is at the posterior margin of the skull. The teeth are blunt and peg-like. Tuditanids are thought to have had a similar lifestyle to reptiles such as captorhinids. They were terrestrial and likely fed on

insect Insects (from Latin ') are Hexapoda, hexapod invertebrates of the class (biology), class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body (Insect morphology#Head, head, ...

s and other small

arthropod Arthropods ( ) are invertebrates in the phylum Arthropoda. They possess an arthropod exoskeleton, exoskeleton with a cuticle made of chitin, often Mineralization (biology), mineralised with calcium carbonate, a body with differentiated (Metam ...

s. The similarity between tuditanids and contemporary reptiles may have contributed to their rarity in the Late Carboniferous and their relatively early extinction before the start of the

Permian The Permian ( ) is a geologic period and System (stratigraphy), stratigraphic system which spans 47 million years, from the end of the Carboniferous Period million years ago (Mya), to the beginning of the Triassic Period 251.902 Mya. It is the s ...

. '' Asaphestra'', previously thought to be the member of Tuditanidae, was reclassified as primitive

synapsid Synapsida is a diverse group of tetrapod vertebrates that includes all mammals and their extinct relatives. It is one of the two major clades of the group Amniota, the other being the more diverse group Sauropsida (which includes all extant rept ...

in 2020.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q3541853 Microsauria Prehistoric tetrapod families Pennsylvanian tetrapods of Europe Pennsylvanian tetrapods of North America Taxa named by Edward Drinker Cope