A new rhynchocephalian from the late jurassic of Germany with a dentition that is unique amongst tetrapods.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Rhynchocephalians, the sister group of squamates (lizards and snakes), are only represented by the single genus Sphenodon today. This taxon is often considered to represent a very conservative lineage. However, rhynchocephalians were common during the late Triassic to latest Jurassic periods, but rapidly declined afterwards, which is generally attributed to their supposedly adaptive inferiority to squamates and/or Mesozoic mammals, which radiated at that time. New finds of Mesozoic rhynchocephalians can thus provide important new information on the evolutionary history of the group.

Principle findings

A new fossil relative of Sphenodon from the latest Jurassic of southern Germany, Oenosaurus muehlheimensis gen. et sp. nov., presents a dentition that is unique amon

SUBMITTER: Rauhut OW 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3485277 | biostudies-literature | 2012

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature