A reassessment of the enigmatic diapsid Paliguana whitei and the early history of Lepidosauromorpha.

ABSTRACT: Lepidosaurs include lizards, snakes, amphisbaenians and the tuatara, comprising a highly speciose evolutionary radiation with widely varying anatomical traits. Their stem-lineage originated by the late middle Permian 259 million years ago, but its early fossil record is poorly documented, obscuring the origins of key anatomical and functional traits of the group. Paliguana whitei, from the Early Triassic of South Africa, is an enigmatic fossil species with the potential to provide information on this. However, its anatomy and phylogenetic affinities remain highly uncertain, and have been debated since its discovery more than 100 years ago. We present microtomographic three-dimensional imaging of the cranial anatomy of P. whitei that clarifies these uncertainties, providing st

SUBMITTER: Ford DP 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8385343 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature