Sphenodontidae is a family within the reptile group Rhynchocephalia, comprising taxa most closely related to the living tuatara. Historically the taxa included within Sphenodontidae have varied greatly between analyses, and the group has lacked a formal definition. Cynosphenodon from the Jurassic of Mexico has consistently been recovered as a close relative of the tuatara in most analyses, with the clade containing the two and other very close relatives of the tuatara often called Sphenodontinae. The herbivorous Eilenodontinae, otherwise considered part of Opisthodontia, is considered to be part of this family in many recent studies as the sister group to Sphenodontinae. The earliest Sphenodontines are known from the Early Jurassic of North America, with other remains known from the Late Jurassic of Europe, the Late Cretaceous of South America and the Miocene-recent of New Zealand. Sphenodontines are characterised by a complete lower temporal bar caused by the fusion of a forward directed process (extension) of the quadrate/quadratojugal and the jugal, which was an adaptation for reducing stress in the skull during hard biting. Other synapomorphies of Sphenodontinae include the presence of nasal foramina, a posterodorsal process of the coronoid of the lower jaw, the present of caniniform successional teeth at the front of the jaws, the presence of flanges on the posterior parts of teeth at back of the lower jaw, and an expanded radial condyle on the humerus. Like modern tuatara, members of Sphenodontinae were likely generalists with a carnivorous/insectivorous diet.
The brown-throated sloth is a species of three-toed sloth found in the Neotropical realm of Central and South America.
Nyctibatrachus is a genus of frogs endemic to the Western Ghats of southwestern India. Their common name is night frogs. Their scientific name also means "night frog", in reference to their habits and dark color. They are the only extant members of the monotypic subfamily Nyctibatrachinae. Currently, 35 species belong to Nyctibatrachus.
The three-toed or three-fingered sloths are arboreal neotropical mammals. They are the only members of the genus Bradypus and the family Bradypodidae. The five living species of three-toed sloths are the brown-throated sloth, the maned sloth, the pale-throated sloth, the southern maned sloth, and the pygmy three-toed sloth. In complete contrast to past morphological studies, which tended to place Bradypus as the sister group to all other folivorans, molecular studies place them nested within the sloth superfamily Megatherioidea, making them the only surviving members of that radiation.
Guloninae is a subfamily of the mammal family Mustelidae distributed across Eurasia and the Americas. It includes martens and the fisher, tayra and wolverine. These genera were formerly included within a paraphyletic definition of the mustelid subfamily Mustelinae.
Cryptoclididae is a family of medium-sized plesiosaurs that existed from the Middle Jurassic to the Early Cretaceous. They had long necks, broad and short skulls and densely packed teeth. They fed on small soft-bodied preys such as small fish and crustaceans. The earliest members of the family appeared during the early Bajocian, and they represented the dominant group of long-necked plesiosaurs during the latter half of the Jurassic.
The Cymothoidae are a family of isopods in the suborder Cymothoida found in both marine and freshwater environments. Cymoithoids are ectoparasites, usually of fish, and they include the bizarre "tongue-biter", which attaches to a fish's tongue, causing it to atrophy, and replaces the tongue with its own body. Ceratothoa oestroides is one of the most devastating ectoparasites in Mediterranean aquaculture. Around 40 genera and more than 380 species of cymothoid are recognised. Species of the Cymothoidae are generally found in warmer waters and rarely in the cool and cold climates.
Bouliachelys is an extinct genus of sea turtle from Cretaceous Australia. It was originally described as a member of Protostegidae. In 2013 study it was considered to be a member of Dermochelyoidae, although later studies consider it as a protostegid again.
Atoposauridae is a family of crocodile-line archosaurs belonging to Neosuchia. The majority of the family are known from Late Jurassic to Early Cretaceous marine deposits in France, Portugal, and Bavaria in southern Germany. The discovery of the genus Aprosuchus, however, extends the duration of the lineage to the end of the Cretaceous in Romania.
Pseudophlegethontia is an extinct genus of aïstopod tetrapodomorphs. It is the only member of the family Pseudophlegethontiidae. The only species is the type species P. turnbullorum, named in 2003. Fossils of Pseudophlegethontia have been found from the Mazon Creek fossil beds in Grundy County, Illinois, a conservation lagerstätte well known for the exceptional preservation of middle Pennsylvanian taxa.
Isisfordia is an extinct genus of crocodyliform closely related to crocodilians that lived in Australia during the Middle Cretaceous (Albian–Cenomanian).
Nyctibatrachidae is a small family of frogs found in the Western Ghats of India and in Sri Lanka. Their common name is robust frogs. Recognition of Nyctibatrachidae as a family is fairly recent. These frogs were previously placed in the broadly defined family Ranidae, which was more recently divided into three subfamilies: Lankanectinae, Nyctibatrachinae, and Astrobatrachinae.
Fugusuchus is an extinct genus of archosauriform, probably the basal-most member of the family Erythrosuchidae. The genus is known from a single fossil from the middle Early Triassic Heshanggou Formation in Shanxi, China. The partial skeleton consists of an incomplete skull, parts of the right forelimb, and an intercentrum. The skeleton, known as GMB V 313, is currently in the Geological Museum of China in Beijing.
Plesiogulo is a genus of prehistoric carnivore that lived from Miocene to Pliocene of Africa, Eurasia and North America. An ancestral relationship to the wolverine was once suggested, but it is no longer considered likely. However, some authorities still consider it a member of the Guloninae.
Santanmantis is an extinct genus of mantises, the sole genus in the family Santanmantidae. The only species, Santanmantis axelrodi, is known from the Crato Formation of Brazil, dating to the late Aptian stage of the Early Cretaceous. It is amongst the most primitive known lineages of mantis. Like other mantises, the forelegs are modified into spined raptorial appendages. When describing a new specimen in 2017, Hörnig, Haug and Haug proposed that the second set of legs also had spines similar to the forelegs, and also served a raptorial function, but that they were not visible in the fossil due to being broken off. However a response to this paper criticised this assumption, finding that it had little evidence from the fossil itself or from living mantises.
The Naobaogou Formation is a geological formation in the Daqing Mountains of China. It is likely of Lopingian age. It consists of three rhythms of sediment, labelled members I-III primarily of purple siltstone, but each with a thick basal conglomerate bed. It is notable for its fossil content, producing one of the most diverse Late Permian vertebrate faunas outside Russia and South Africa.
TheSloth Conservation Foundation (SloCo) is a non-profit organisation based in Costa Rica that is dedicated to the protection of sloths living in wild and human-modified habitats through research, education and community-based conservation. SloCo was founded in 2017 by sloth researcher Dr. Rebecca Cliffe.
Menefeeceratops is a genus of ceratopsid dinosaur from the Menefee Formation in New Mexico, United States. It is potentially the oldest known member of the ceratopsids, as well as the centrosaurine subfamily, related to animals including Yehuecauhceratops and Crittendenceratops. The type and only species is Menefeeceratops sealeyi, known from a partial, non-articulated skeleton.
Attenborolimulus is an extinct genus of horseshoe crab with one known species: Attenborolimulus superspinosus. This genus is known from the Petropavlovka formation, dating to the Olenekian age, and is named after David Attenborough for his work in conservation and science communication.
Jiufengia is an extinct genus of therocephalian in the family Akidnognathidae. It is known from a single species, Jiufengia jiai, from the Late Permian Naobaogou Formation in China.
