London specimen of A. suessi above, with interpretative drawing of its skull on the left. Vienna holotype specimen of A. suessi below.
Scientific classification
Domain:
Eukaryota
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Chordata
Class:
Reptilia
Order:
Squamata
Clade:
Pythonomorpha
Genus:
Adriosaurus Seeley, 1881
Species
A. microbrachis Palci & Caldwell, 2007[1]
A. skrbinensis Caldwell & Palci, 2010[2]
A. suessi Seeley, 1881 (type)
Adriosaurus is an extinct genus of squamate which lived in what is now Slovenia and other parts of Europe during the Late Cretaceous. It was small, snake-like reptile, with type species measuring up to 30 cm (12 in) in length. This is the first fossil record of vestigial limbs in lizards.[3][4] It lost its manus and forearm completely in order to elongate its axial skeleton. These unique anatomical features led to discussions of the evolutionary patterns of limb reduction in Squamata.[5]
Adriosaurus includes three species: A. microbrachis (“micro”, meaning small, and “brachis”, meaning arm, referring to the vestigial forelimb composed of only the humerus),[5]A skrbinensis (named after the location where they found the fossil, Skrbina, northwest of Komen, Slovenia) and A. suessi. However, A. microbrachis lacks many crucial characters to be qualified for cladistic analysis, thus it's not included in the list of terminal taxa.[6]
^Alessandro Palci & Michael W. Caldwell (2007). "Vestigial forelimbs and axial elongation in a 95-million-year-old non-snake squamate". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 27 (1): 1–7. doi:10.1671/0272-4634(2007)27[1:VFAAEI]2.0.CO;2.
^Michael W. Caldwell & Alessandro Palci (2010b). "A new species of marine ophidiomorph lizard, Adriosaurus skrbinensis, from the Upper Cretaceous of Slovenia". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 30 (3): 747–755. doi:10.1080/02724631003762963.
^Ancient lizard missing front limbs - LiveScience - nbcnews.com
^"Aquatic Lizard Was Losing Its Front Limbs". Archived from the original on 2012-10-16. Retrieved 2019-05-07.
^ abAlessandro Palci and Michael W. Caldwell. 2007. Vestigial Forelimbs and Axial Elongation in a 95 Million-Year-Old Non-Snake Squamate. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology Vol. 27, No. 1. pp. 1-7
^MICHAEL W. CALDWELL and ALESSANDRO PALCI. 2010, A NEW SPECIES OF MARINE OPHIDIOMORPH LIZARD, ADRIOSAURUS SKRBINENSIS , FROM THE UPPER CRETACEOUS OF SLOVENIA. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology Vol. 30, No. 3. pp. 747-755
maneuverability. Thus, Adriosaurus was a relatively slow swimmer. Its living environment was likely to be near-shore, and calm environments. Adriosaurus had sharp...
Mosasaurus hoffmannii and dolichosaurs Dolichosaurus, Coniasaurus, and Adriosaurus suessi. Its placement within the squamate tree is highly controversial...
Palci, Alessandro (2010). "A new species of marine ophidiomorph lizard, Adriosaurus skrbinensis, from the Upper Cretaceous of Slovenia". Journal of Vertebrate...
Palci, Alessandro (2010). "A new species of marine ophidiomorph lizard,Adriosaurus skrbinensis, from the Upper Cretaceous of Slovenia". Journal of Vertebrate...
Pontosaurus, Aphanizocnemus, and Adriosaurus. Acteosaurus was found to be a basal ophidiomorph (similar to Adriosaurus) and sister taxon to the Ophidia...
non-mosasaurid mosasauroid, though likely more basal. Perhaps a dolichosaurid. Adriosaurus Seeley 1881 Valid Slovenia More basal than the Mosasauridae, its position...
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