The fossil represents a restoration of the art of the new species Taytalura (by Jorge Blanco). Springer Nature Courtesy photo
BEIJING, Aug. 26 (Xinhua) -- A recent paleontological research paper published in nature, an internationally renowned academic journal, said that researchers found a lizard-like reptile skull fossil in the Triassic strata of Argentina, which is about 231 million years old, revealing the origin and rise of lepidoptera reptiles such as snakes, lizards and beaked lizards.
The paper describes lepidosaurs as scaly reptiles, including lepids (lizards and snakes) and cuneiform lizards, such as the beaked lizard (a New Zealand reptile). There are more than 11,000 species of lepidosaurs, the most diverse group of existing terrestrial vertebrates, but due to the fragmented and disorderly fossil record, little is known about them compared to their sister lineage, the main subclass plesiosaurs , which include crocodiles , birds , and non-avian dinosaurs.
Fossil restoration process (image courtesy of Jorge Blanco, Gabriela Sobral and Ricardo Martinez). Springer Nature Courtesy photo
The corresponding author, Ricardo Martínez of the National University of San Juan in Argentina, and colleagues, through a study of a well-preserved fossil of a reptile skull found in Argentina about 231 million years ago, believe that the fossil is close to the origin of lepidoptera before the separation of squamous and cuneiform lizards, and may be one of the earliest known lepidosaurs.
They point out that this skull fossil has similar characteristics to modern beaked lizards, suggesting that some of the anatomical features that were previously inferred to be unique to wedge lizards may have originated early in the evolution of lepidosaurs. The fossil is about 11 million years older than the earliest known lepidontosaur fossil in Europe, and is about the same period as the oldest known lepidoptera fossil in South America.
The findings suggest that the crest and stem groups of Lepidoptera existed simultaneously for at least 10 million years in the Triassic period, and that the geographical distribution of early Lepidoptera was much broader than previously thought, the authors said. (End)
Source: China News Network