Procolophonoids
Temporal range: 265–201.3 Ma Middle Wordian - Late Rhaetian
Skeleton of Kapes bentoni (Procolophonidae, Procolophoninae)
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Clade: †Parareptilia
Order: †Procolophonomorpha
Suborder: †Procolophonia
Superfamily: †Procolophonoidea
Broom, 1939
Families
Synonyms
  • Procolophoniformes De Braga & Rieppel, 1997

Procolophonoidea is an extinct superfamily of procolophonian parareptiles. Members were characteristically small, stocky, and lizard-like in appearance. Fossils have been found worldwide from many continents including Antarctica.[1] The first members appeared during the Late Permian in the Karoo Basin of South Africa.[2]

Taxonomy

Procolophonoidea includes the families Owenettidae and Procolophonidae. Sclerosaurus, which is placed within its own family Sclerosauridae, may be a member of the superfamily as well. In 1997, De Braga and Rieppel defined this same taxon (the oldest common ancestor of Procolophonidae and Owenettidae and all its descendants) using the name Procolophoniformes.[3]

When the superfamily was constructed in 1956, it was thought to be within the anthracosaur suborder Diadectomorpha.[4] Since then it has been placed within the suborder Procolophonia along with the pareiasaurs, a group of large herbivorous Permian parareptiles.[5][6][7][8]

Sclerosaurus armatus
Cladogram of Procolophonoidea, excluding members of Procolophonidae
Procolophonoidea 
 Owenettidae 
void
void

Barasaurus

 void 

Owenetta rubidgei

Saurodektes

 void 

"Owenetta" kitchingorum

Candelaria

void

Coletta

 void 

Sauropareion

Procolophonidae

Cisneros et al. 2004[9]
Cladogram of Procolophonidae
Procolophonidae 
void
void

Contritosaurus

Tichvinskia

void

Procolophon

void

Hypsognathus

Modesto et al. 2001[10]

References

  1. ^ Colbert, E. H. and Kitching, J. W. (1975). The Triassic reptile Procolophon in Antarctica. American Museum Novitates 2566:1-23.
  2. ^ Broom, R. (1939). A new type of cotylosaurian, Owenetta rubidgei. Annals of the Transvaal Museum 19:319–321.
  3. ^ Jalil, N. E., & Janvier, P. (2005). Les pareiasaures (Amniota, Parareptilia) du Permien supérieur du Bassin d’Argana, Maroc. Geodiversitas, 27(1), 35-132.
  4. ^ Romer, A. S. (1956). Osteology of the Reptiles. University of Chicago Press. 772 pp.
  5. ^ Daly, E. (1973). A Lower Permian vertebrate fauna from southern Oklahoma. Journal of Paleontology 47(3):562-589.
  6. ^ Carroll, R. L. (1988). Vertebrate Paleontology and Evolution. WH Freeman and Company, New York ISBN 0-7167-1822-7.
  7. ^ Lee, M. S. Y. (1997). Pareisaur phylogeny and the origin of turtles. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 120(3):197-280.
  8. ^ Modesto, S. P. and Damiani, R. (2007). The procolophonoid reptile Sauropareion anoplus from the lowermost Triassic of South Africa. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 27(2):337-349.
  9. ^ Cisneros, J. C., Damiani, R., Schultz, C., da Rosa, A., Schwanke, C., Neto, L. W. and Aurélio, P. L. P. (2004) A procolophonoid reptile with temporal fenestration from the Middle Triassic of Brazil. Proceedings of the Royal Society Series B 271(1547):1541–1546.
  10. ^ Modesto, S. Sues, H.-D. and Damiani, R. (2001). A new Triassic procolophonoid reptile and its implications for procolophonoid survivorship during the Permo-Triassic extinction event. Proceedings of the Royal Society Series B 268(2001):2047–2052.

External links

Parareptilia
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