New information on the Jurassic lepidosauromorph <i>Marmoretta oxoniensis</i>

Griffiths, Elizabeth; Ford, David P.; Benson, Roger B. J.; Evans, SE

doi:10.1002/spp2.1400

Cited by 21 publications

(27 citation statements)

References 33 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…However, it is the first time this issue has been approached with quantitative methods involving such an array of diverse points of view (phylogeny, dating, fossil record, morphospace, disparity, and evolutionary rates). Moreover, most of the Jurassic forms are very difficult to classify, and many of them have been reinterpreted since this was proposed (e.g., Marmoretta , see Griffiths et al, 2021 ). Our methods, however, do not necessarily rely on the achieved identification of each fossil because they feed on the morphological information stored in the character matrix, and not the specific topology derived from its analysis.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Jurassic rise of squamates as supported by lepidosaur disparity and evolutionary rates

Bolet

Stubbs

Herrera-Flores

et al. 2022

eLife

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The squamates (lizards, snakes, and relatives) today comprise more than 10,000 species, and yet their sister group, the Rhynchocephalia, is represented by a single species today, the tuatara. The explosion in squamate diversity has been tracked back to the Cretaceous Terrestrial Revolution, 100 million years ago (Ma), the time when flowering plants began their takeover of terrestrial ecosystems, associated with diversification of coevolving insects and insect-eating predators such as lizards, birds, and mammals. Squamates arose much earlier, but their long pre-Cretaceous history of some 150 million years (Myr) is documented by sparse fossils. Here, we provide evidence for an initial radiation of squamate morphology in the Middle and Late Jurassic (174–145 Ma), and show that they established their key ecological roles much earlier than had been assumed, and they have not changed them much since.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Jurassic rise of squamates as supported by lepidosaur disparity and evolutionary rates

Bolet

Stubbs

Herrera-Flores

et al. 2022

eLife

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Saurillodon, Oxiella, and Parviraptor. Squamate bones were also reported from roughly contemporaneous deposits on the Isle of Skye, Scotland [23], and new fieldwork on Skye has yielded both isolated elements and associated material, including specimens referable to the Kirtlington genera Balnealacerta, Bellairsia, and Parviraptor [29]. These specimens both validate the original associations [27,28], contra Caldwell et al [30], and add new morphological data for phylogenetic analysis.…”

Section: The Early Squamate Fossil Recordmentioning

confidence: 67%

“…More recently, Simões et al [19] placed three monotypic genera, Sophineta cracoviensis (Lower Triassic, Poland, [20]), Megachirella wachtleri (Upper Triassic, Italy [21]), and Marmoretta oxoniensis (Middle Jurassic, UK [22]) into Squamata. However, re-analyses, based on new data for Marmoretta [23], do not support a squamate attribution for either Marmoretta or Sophineta, and leave the position of Megachirella as equivocal.…”

Section: The Early Squamate Fossil Recordmentioning

confidence: 84%

“…If the association is correct, then this Middle Jurassic taxon would be of considerable interest as an early long-bodied, and presumably limb-reduced, squamate. Balnealacerta, also from Kirtlington [28] was attributed to Paramacellodidae based on similarities in jaw and tooth structure, as were dentaries from contemporaneous localities on Skye [23]. However, no osteoderms were recovered from among the many kilos of residue from Kirtlington sorted by the author, nor are they known from Skye (e.g., in association with the new material of Balnealacerta [29]), and therefore attribution of these Middle Jurassic remains to Paramacellodidae remains tentative.…”

Section: Scincoideamentioning

confidence: 97%

See 1 more Smart Citation

The Origin and Early Diversification of Squamates

Evans¹

2022

The Origin and Early Evolutionary History of Snakes

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Squamata, the group that encompasses snakes, lizards, and amphisbaenians, is the largest (>10,500 sp.) and most disparate group of modern reptiles. Extant squamates are distributed over all but the coldest parts of the world; range in size (snout-vent length, SVL) from millimetres to metres; and show a diversity of diets, shapes, locomotor patterns, and reproductive strategies. Snakes (Serpentes) account for roughly 35 per cent of all extant squamate species and their origin and relationships, which have long intrigued herpetologists, are the focus of this volume. This chapter aims to provide a foundation for subsequent chapters, by reviewing what is currently known of the early stages of squamate evolution and diversification.Most researchers recognize eight extant major squamate clades (Fig. 2.1): Dibamidae; Gekkota; Scincoidea (=Scinciformata [1]), encompassing Xantusiidae, Scincidae, and Cordyliformes; Lacertoidea (=Laterata [1]), encompassing Lacertidae and Teiioidea; Amphisbaenia; Iguania; Anguimorpha; and Serpentes. Although Camp [2] considered Gekkota to be primitive squamates (part of his Ascalabota), the first comprehensive cladistic analysis [3], based on morphological characters, placed Iguania as the sister group of other squamates (Scleroglossa). Within Scleroglossa, Estes et al. [3] united Scincoidea + Lacertoidea in Scincomorpha, and Scincomorpha + Anguimorpha as Autarchoglossa. The position of three limb-reduced clades, Dibamidae, Amphisbaenia, and Serpentes, was unresolved within Scleroglossa. The topology of Estes et al. [3] remained the working hypothesis for most herpetologists until 2004 with the publication of phylogenies based on molecular data [4,5]. The molecular trees placed Gekkota rather than Iguania as the sister group of other squamates (invalidating Scleroglossa), with Scincoidea, and then Lacertoidea (including Amphisbaenia) as successive outgroups to a Toxicofera that

show abstract

“…Today, all recent phylogenetical analyses recover weigeltisaurids as stem-saurians (e.g. Ezcurra et al, 2014;Schoch and Sues, 2018;Pritchard and Sues, 2019;Sobral et al, 2020;Griffiths et al, 2021), possibly closely related to drepanosauromorphs (Merck, 2003;Senter, 2004;Pritchard et al, 2021) or 'paliguanids' (Müller, 2004).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

The postcranial skeleton of the gliding reptileCoelurosauravus elivensisPiveteau, 1926 (Diapsida, Weigeltisauridae) from the late Permian of Madagascar

Buffa¹,

Frey

Steyer³

et al. 2022

Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The postcranial skeleton of the gliding neodiapsid reptile Coelurosauravus elivensis (Lower Sakamena Formation, late? Permian, southwestern Madagascar) is redescribed in detail based on all previously referred specimens. The exquisite preservation of the material provides three-dimensional details of the individual bones, which are missing in the Laurasian weigeltisaurid material. A new skeletal reconstruction of C. elivensis is proposed including the first reconstruction of a weigeltisaurid reptile in lateral view. The reexamination of the material highlights interspecific differences in the postcranium of weigeltisaurids, in particular in the trunk and patagial spars. These animals have long been considered as arboreal and gliding reptiles. However, new information on the postcranium of C. elivensis reveals strong similarities with both extant and extinct quadrupeds specialized for a clinging arboreal lifestyle. Additionally, the presence of an additional phalanx in the fifth digit of the manus is now attested for all weigeltisaurids where this region is preserved. We suggest that this morphology could have allowed weigeltisaurids to grasp their patagium as observed in the extant gliding agamid Draco. Weigeltisaurids are thus the earliest known gliding vertebrates and some of the first tetrapods with an obligatory arboreal lifestyle, but also represent the only known vertebrates with a hyperphalangy aligned with a gliding apparatus.

show abstract

New information on the Jurassic lepidosauromorph Marmoretta oxoniensis

Cited by 21 publications

References 33 publications

The Jurassic rise of squamates as supported by lepidosaur disparity and evolutionary rates

The Jurassic rise of squamates as supported by lepidosaur disparity and evolutionary rates

The Origin and Early Diversification of Squamates

The postcranial skeleton of the gliding reptileCoelurosauravus elivensisPiveteau, 1926 (Diapsida, Weigeltisauridae) from the late Permian of Madagascar

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About