A collage of thalattosaur fossils. Clockwise from upper left: Askeptosaurus italicus (an askeptosauroid), Endennasaurus acutirostris (an askeptosauroid), Gunakadeit joseeae (a thalattosauroid), Thalattosaurus alexandrae (a thalattosauroid)
Scientific classification
Domain:
Eukaryota
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Chordata
Class:
Reptilia
Clade:
Neodiapsida
Order:
†Thalattosauria Merriam, 1904
Superfamilies
†Blezingeria?
†Askeptosauroidea
†Thalattosauroidea
Synonyms
Thalattosauriformes Nicholls, 1999
Thalattosauria (Greek for "sea lizards") is an extinct order of prehistoric marine reptiles that lived in the Middle to Late Triassic. Thalattosaurs were diverse in size and shape, and are divided into two superfamilies: Askeptosauroidea and Thalattosauroidea. Askeptosauroids were endemic to the Tethys Ocean, their fossils have been found in Europe and China, and they were likely semiaquatic fish eaters with straight snouts and decent terrestrial abilities.[1] Thalattosauroids were more specialized for aquatic life and most had unusual downturned snouts and crushing dentition. Thalattosauroids lived along the coasts of both Panthalassa and the Tethys Ocean, and were most diverse in China and western North America.[2] The largest species of thalattosaurs grew to over 4 meters (13 feet) in length, including a long, flattened tail utilized in underwater propulsion. Although thalattosaurs bore a superficial resemblance to lizards, their exact relationships are unresolved. They are widely accepted as diapsids, but experts have variously placed them on the reptile family tree among Lepidosauromorpha (squamates, rhynchocephalians and their relatives),[3][4] Archosauromorpha (archosaurs and their relatives),[5] ichthyosaurs,[6] and/or other marine reptiles.[7][8]
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Thalattosauria (Greek for "sea lizards") is an extinct order of prehistoric marine reptiles that lived in the Middle to Late Triassic. Thalattosaurs were...
Thalattosaurus from California. Thalattosauroids are one of two groups of Thalattosauria, the other being Askeptosauroidea. Thalattosauroids make up the "traditional"...
The position of the highly derived Mesozoic marine reptile groups Thalattosauria, Ichthyosauromorpha and Sauropterygia within Neodiapsida is uncertain...
clade with two other groups of marine reptiles, Ichthyosauromorpha and Thalattosauria, with this clade either being placed as non-saurian diapsids or as basal...
Silvio Renesto (2005). "A possible find of Endennasaurus (Reptilia, Thalattosauria) with a comparison between Endennasaurus and Pachystropheus". Neues...
archosauromorphs, forming a clade with the other marine reptile groups Thalattosauria and Sauropterygia as sister to the rest of the Archosauromorpha. A 2023...
Permian period. However, subsequent study determined it was a member of Thalattosauria, a group of unusual marine reptiles that lived during the Triassic period...
(2006). "A new species of the thalattosaur genus Anshunsaurus (Reptilia: Thalattosauria) from the Middle Triassic of Guizhou Province, southwestern China"....
The Besano Formation is a geological formation in the southern Alps of northwestern Italy and southern Switzerland. This formation, a thin but fossiliferous...
marine reptiles. Askeptosauroidea is one of two major subgroups of Thalattosauria, the other being Thalattosauroidea. It includes the family Askeptosauridae...
Atopodentatus, and the first plesiosaurs. The first of the lizardlike Thalattosauria (askeptosaurs) and the highly successful ichthyosaurs, which appeared...
the phylogenetic relationships of askeptosaurids: It was assigned to Thalattosauria by Kuhn (1966) and Carroll (1988); and to Askeptosauroidea by Wu et...
Archosauromorpha group, forming a large clade including Ichthyosauromorpha and Thalattosauria as opposed to the Pantestudine relations. Although the most diverse...
Olivier; Nuller, Johannes; Liu, Jun (2005). "Rostral Structure in Thalattosauria (reptilia, Diapsida)". Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences. 42 (12):...
a monophyletic clade between Ichthyosauromorpha, Sauropterygia, and Thalattosauria as a massive marine clade of aquatic archosauromorphs originating in...
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