Prolacertiformes
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Prolacertiformes
(prō¦las·ər·də′för′mēz)
(paleontology) A suborder of extinct terrestrial reptiles in the order Eosuchia distinguished by reduction of the lower temporal arcade.
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Prolacertiformes
| Prolacertiformes Temporal range: 299–199 Ma Permian-Triassic |
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| Life restoration of Macrocnemus, a protorosaur from Europe | |
Scientific classification  |
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| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| clade: | Sauria |
| Infraclass: | Archosauromorpha |
| Order: | †Prolacertiformes Camp, 1945 |
| Families | |
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Prolacertiformes (sometimes called protorosaurs) were an order of archosauromorph reptiles that lived during the Permian and Triassic Periods. Many species seem to have been adapted for an arboreal lifestyle, including the "delta-winged glider" Sharovipteryx, while others, such as Tanystropheus, had extremely long, stiffened necks (possibly used to catch fish), and may have been at least partly aquatic.
Other enigmatic reptile groups have sometimes been classified as belonging to the Prolacertiformes, including the drepanosaurids,[1] Longisquama,[2] and the pterosaurs.[2] Senter (2004) re-assigns the bizarre, arboreal drepanosaurids and Longisquama to a group of more primitive diapsids called Avicephala.[3]
Classification
- Order Prolacertiformes
- Gwyneddosaurus
- Family Protorosauridae
- Family Prolacertidae
- Boreopricea
- Cosesaurus Ellenberger & Villalta, 1974
- Jesairosaurus
- Kadimakara
- Langobardisaurus
- Macrocnemus
- Malutinisuchus
- Pamelaria
- Prolacerta
- Vritramimosaurus
- Family Sharovipterygidae
- Family Tanystropheidae
- Augustaburiania
- Dinocephalosaurus
- Protanystropheus
- Tanystropheus
- Tanytrachelos
Recent studies on the phylogeny of Prolacertiformes indicate that the group is polyphyletic; while most prolacertiformes form a clade of basal archosauromorphs, Prolacerta is closely related to more derived archosauriforms.[4] Below is a cladogram from Benton & Allen (1997) showing a monophyletic Prolacertiformes that includes Prolacerta:[5]
| Archosauromorpha |
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References
- ^ Renesto, S. (1994). "Megalancosaurus, a possibly arboreal archosauromorph (Reptilia) from the Upper Triassic of northern Italy." Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, 14(1): 38-52.
- ^ a b Peters, D. (2000). "A Redescription of Four Prolacertiform Genera and Implications for Pterosaur Phylogenesis." Rivista Italiana di Paleontologia e Stratigrafia, 106(3): 293–336.
- ^ Senter, P. (2004). "Phylogeny of Drepanosauridae (Reptilia: Diapsida)". Journal of Systematic Palaeontology 2 (3): 257–268. doi:10.1017/S1477201904001427.
- ^ Modesto, S. P.; Sues, H. D. (2004). "The skull of the Early Triassic archosauromorph reptile Prolacerta broomi and its phylogenetic significance". Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 140 (3): 335. doi:10.1111/j.1096-3642.2003.00102.x.
- ^ Benton, M.J.; and Allen, J.L. (1997). "Boreopricea from the Lower Triassic of Russia, and the relationships of the prolacertiform reptiles". Palaeontology 40 (4): 931-953. http://palaeontology.palass-pubs.org/pdf/Vol%2040/Pages%20931-953.pdf.
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