Araeoscelis

Araeoscelis
Temporal range: Artinskian, Early Permian 284.4–275.6 Ma
Fossil
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Sauropsida
Subclass: Diapsida
Order: Araeoscelida
Family: Araeoscelidae
Genus: Araeoscelis

Araeoscelis is an extinct genus of reptile, and one of the earliest diapsids. Fossils have been found in Texas, dating from the early Permian period. Two species have been described, A. casei and A. gracilis.[1]

Description

1914 restoration by Samuel Wendell Williston

Araeoscelis was around 60 centimetres (2.0 ft) long, and superficially resembled a modern lizard. It differed from earlier forms, such as Petrolacosaurus, in that its teeth were larger and blunter; possibly they were used for cracking insect carapaces.[2]

Unlike its close relatives, which exhibit the two pairs of skull openings characteristic of diapsids, in Araeoscelis the lower pair of temporal fenestrae were closed with bone, resulting in an euryapsid condition. This would have made the skull more solid, presumably allowing a more powerful bite.[2]

Ichnology

Footprints found in Nova Scotia have been attributed to Araeoscelis or a close relative. [3]


References

  1. ↑ Dixon, Dougal (2015). The Complete Illustrated Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs. London: Hermes House.
  2. 1 2 Palmer, D., ed. (1999). The Marshall Illustrated Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs and Prehistoric Animals. London: Marshall Editions. p. 82. ISBN 1-84028-152-9.
  3. ↑ Dixon, Dougal (2015). The Complete Illustrated Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs. London: Hermes House.
  • Carroll, Robert L. (1988). Vertebrate Paleontology and Evolution. New York: W.H. Freeman and Co.
  • Benton, Michael J. (2000). Vertebrate Paleontology (2nd ed.). Oxford: Blackwell Science.
  • Simon and Schuster (1999). The Simon & Schuster Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs and Prehistoric Creatures (1st ed.). Great Britain: Marshall Publishing. ISBN 0-684-86411-8.


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