A new Early Permian reptile and its significance in early diapsid evolution
| Autor: | Sean P. Modesto, Diane Scott, Robert R. Reisz |
|---|---|
| Rok vydání: | 2011 |
| Předmět: |
Araeoscelidia
General Immunology and Microbiology Paleozoic biology Permian Fossils Fauna Skull Reptiles Vertebrate Zoology General Medicine biology.organism_classification Biological Evolution Diapsid General Biochemistry Genetics and Molecular Biology Orovenator Paleontology Sister group biology.animal Animals General Agricultural and Biological Sciences Phylogeny Research Articles General Environmental Science |
| Zdroj: | Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. 278:3731-3737 |
| ISSN: | 1471-2954 0962-8452 |
| DOI: | 10.1098/rspb.2011.0439 |
| Popis: | The initial stages of evolution of Diapsida (the large clade that includes not only snakes, lizards, crocodiles and birds, but also dinosaurs and numerous other extinct taxa) is clouded by an exceedingly poor Palaeozoic fossil record. Previous studies had indicated a 38 Myr gap between the first appearance of the oldest diapsid clade (Araeoscelidia), ca 304 million years ago (Ma), and that of its sister group in the Middle Permian ( ca 266 Ma). Two new reptile skulls from the Richards Spur locality, Lower Permian of Oklahoma, represent a new diapsid reptile: Orovenator mayorum n. gen. et sp. A phylogenetic analysis identifies O. mayorum as the oldest and most basal member of the araeoscelidian sister group. As Richards Spur has recently been dated to 289 Ma, the new diapsid neatly spans the above gap by appearing 15 Myr after the origin of Diapsida. The presence of O. mayorum at Richards Spur, which records a diverse upland fauna, suggests that initial stages in the evolution of non-araeoscelidian diapsids may have been tied to upland environments. This hypothesis is consonant with the overall scant record for non-araeoscelidian diapsids during the Permian Period, when the well-known terrestrial vertebrate communities are preserved almost exclusively in lowland deltaic, flood plain and lacustrine sedimentary rocks. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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