A therapsid is a member of the clade Therapsida which is a major group of eupelycosaurian synapsids that includes mammals and their ancestors and relatives. Many of the traits today seen as unique to mammals had their origin within early therapsids, including limbs that were oriented more underneath the body, as opposed to the sprawling posture of many reptiles and salamanders.
Rhynchocephalia is an order of lizard-like reptiles that includes only one living species, the tuatara of New Zealand. Despite its current lack of diversity, during the Mesozoic rhynchocephalians were a speciose group with high morphological and ecological diversity. The oldest record of the group is dated to the Middle Triassic around 238 to 240 million years ago, and they had achieved a worldwide distribution by the Early Jurassic. Most rhynchocephalians belong to the group Sphenodontia ('wedge-teeth'). Their closest living relatives are lizards and snakes in the order Squamata, with the two orders being grouped together in the superorder Lepidosauria.
Lepidosauromorpha is a group of reptiles comprising all diapsids closer to lizards than to archosaurs. The only living sub-group is the Lepidosauria, which contains two subdivisions, Squamata, which contains lizards and snakes, and Rhynchocephalia, the only extant species of which is the tuatara.
Kuehneosaurus is an extinct genus of Late Triassic kuehneosaurid reptile known from the Late Triassic of the Penarth Group of southwest England and the Steinmergel Group of Luxembourg. Temperature at this stage and region would have ranged from 28 to 35 °C. It was named by P. L. Robinson in 1962 in honour of paleontologist Walther Kühn, and the type and only species is Kuehneosaurus latus. Measuring 72 centimetres long, it had "wings" formed from ribs which jutted out from its body by as much as 14.3 cm, connected by a membrane which allowed it to slow its descent when jumping from trees. It is a member of a family of extinct gliding reptiles, the Kuehneosauridae, within a larger living group the Lepidosauromorpha, which contain modern lizards and tuatara.
Thalattosauria is an extinct order of prehistoric marine reptiles that lived in the Middle to Late Triassic. 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 are widely accepted as diapsids, but experts have variously placed them on the reptile family tree among Lepidosauromorpha, Archosauromorpha, ichthyosaurs, and/or other marine reptiles.
Rhynchosaurus is a genus of rhynchosaur that lived during the Middle Triassic period. It lived in Europe. It was related to the archosaurs, but not within that group. The type species of Rhynchosaurus is R. articeps. Michael Benton named two additional species, R. spenceri and R. brodiei, but they were subsequently renamed Fodonyx and Langeronyx respectively. Fossils of Rhynchosaurus have been found in the Tarporley Siltstone Formation and possibly the Sherwood Sandstone Group of the United Kingdom.
Paleontology or palaeontology is the study of prehistoric life forms on Earth through the examination of plant and animal fossils. This includes the study of body fossils, tracks (ichnites), burrows, cast-off parts, fossilised feces (coprolites), palynomorphs and chemical residues. Because humans have encountered fossils for millennia, paleontology has a long history both before and after becoming formalized as a science. This article records significant discoveries and events related to paleontology that occurred or were published in the year 2009.
Kuehneosauridae is an extinct family of small, lizard-like gliding diapsids known from the Triassic period of Europe and North America.
Tricuspisaurus is an extinct genus of reptile originally described as a trilophosaurid; it was later considered likely to be a procolophonid, but recent analyses have affirmed the original classification. Fossils are known from the Ruthin Quarry in Glamorgan, Wales, one of several Late Triassic to Early Jurassic British fissure deposits. Like some trilophosaurs, it has an edentulous, or toothless beak. Tricuspisaurus gets its name from its heterodont dentition, which includes tricuspid teeth, or teeth with three cusps. The type species, T. thomasi, was named in 1957 along with the possible trilophosaur Variodens inopinatus from Somerset, England.
Bentonyx is an extinct genus of rhynchosaur from the middle Triassic epoch of Devon in England. Its fossil, a well preserved skull, BRSUG 27200, was discovered in Otter Sandstone Formation and was first assigned to Rhynchosaurus spenceri, that is known from 25 specimens. This species was reassigned to its own genus, Fodonyx, that was first described by David W. E. Hone and Michael Benton in 2008. More recently, this skull was reassigned to this genus by Max C. Langer, Felipe C. Montefeltro, David E. Hone, Robin Whatley and Cesar L. Schultz in 2010 and the type species is Bentonyx sidensis.
Hyperodapedontinae is a subfamily of rhynchosaurs within the family Rhynchosauridae. Fossils have been found from Argentina, Brazil, Canada, India, Madagascar, Scotland, Tanzania, United States and Zimbabwe.
Anomoiodon is an extinct genus of procolophonine procolophonid parareptile from early Triassic deposits of Thuringia, Germany. It is known only from the holotype MB.R.3539B and paratype MB.R.3539A, two articulated, three-dimensionally preserved partial skeletons on one block which represent two individuals. The holotype includes nearly complete skull and lower jaw. The block was collected from the lowest layer of the Chirotherium Sandstone Member of the Solling Formation, dating to the early Olenekian faunal stage of the Early Triassic, about 249-247 million years ago. It was first named by Friedrich von Huene in 1939 and the type species is Anomoiodon liliensterni. Laura K. Säilä, who redescribed Anomoiodon in 2008, found it to be a leptopleuronine using a phylogenetic analysis. The most recent analysis, performed by Ruta et al. (2011) found it to be a procolophonine instead. However, both analyses found that it is most closely related to the Russian procolophonid Kapes.
Marmoretta is an extinct genus of small lepidosauromorph reptile known from the Middle Jurassic of Oxfordshire, England and Skye, Scotland. It contains a single species, Marmoretta oxoniensis.
Kapes is an extinct genus of procolophonid parareptile from the Lower and Middle Triassic of the United Kingdom and Russia. It is a member of the subfamily Procolophoninae. The type species K. amaenus was named in 1975 from the banks of the Vychegda River in the Komi Republic of Russia. In 1983, a new species was brought into the genus, K. majmesculae. K. majmesculae was first named in 1968 as a member of the genus Tichvinskia. A third Russian species, K. serotinus, was named in 1991. In 2002, Kapes bentoni was named from the Middle Triassic Otter Sandstone Formation of Devon, England, extending the geographic range of Kapes. In the same paper, K. serotinus was synonymized with K. majmesculae and another Russian species was assigned to Kapes called K. komiensis. K. komiensis was first named in 1975 as a member of the genus Macrophon.
The Erfurt Formation, also known as the Lower Keuper, is a stratigraphic formation of the Keuper group and the Germanic Trias supergroup. It was deposited during the Ladinian stage of the Triassic period. It lies above the Upper Muschelkalk and below the Middle Keuper.
Isalo II, also known as the Makay Formation, is an informal Triassic geological unit in Madagascar.
Feralisaurus is an extinct genus of neodiapsid reptile, possibly a basal lepidosauromorph, known from the Middle Triassic of south-western England. It contains one species, Feralisaurus corami, which was described by Cavicchini et al. in 2020. It was found in the Helsby Sandstone Formation.
Palaeagama is an extinct genus of neodiapsid reptile from the Late Permian or Early Triassic of South Africa. It is based on an articulated skeleton which was probably found in the Early Triassic Lystrosaurus Assemblage Zone, or potentially the Late Permian Daptocephalus Assemblage Zone. Despite the completeness of the specimen, Palaeagama is considered as a "wildcard" taxon of uncertain affinities due to poor preservation. It was originally considered an "eosuchian", and later reinterpreted as a lizard ancestor closely related to Paliguana and Saurosternon. Modern studies generally consider it an indeterminate neodiapsid, though a few phylogenetic analyses tentatively support a position at the base of Lepidosauromorpha.
Saurosternon is an extinct genus of neodiapsid reptile from the Late Permian of South Africa. It is based on a partial skeleton split between two slabs of sandstone from the Daptocephalus Assemblage Zone. Saurosternon was one of the earliest small lizard-like reptiles to be discovered in Permian deposits of the Karoo Supergroup, preceding later discoveries such as Paliguana, Youngina, Palaeagama, and Lacertulus. The skeleton is mostly complete, though missing the head. Most of the original bone had decayed away by the time the fossil was discovered, leaving perfect molds in the sandstone slabs. What little bone remained was removed with acid by museum preparators, and the specimen was cast with latex to reconstruct the original bone shape.
