Lagerpetidae

Lagerpetidae
Temporal range: Triassic, 242–211.9 Ma
Speculative life restoration of Dromomeron gregorii in a bipedal stance
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Clade: Avemetatarsalia
Clade: Ornithodira
Clade: †Pterosauromorpha
Family: †Lagerpetidae
Arcucci, 1986
Genera

Lagerpetidae (/ˌlædʒərˈpɛtɪdiː/; originally Lagerpetonidae) is a family of basal avemetatarsalians. Though traditionally considered the earliest-diverging dinosauromorphs (reptiles closer to dinosaurs than to pterosaurs), fossils described in 2020 suggest that lagerpetids may instead be pterosauromorphs (closer to pterosaurs).[2][3] Lagerpetid fossils are known from the Triassic of San Juan (Argentina), Arizona (USA), Rio Grande do Sul (Brazil), Madagascar, New Mexico (USA), and Texas (USA).[4][5][6][7][2] They were typically small, although some lagerpetids, like Dromomeron gigas and a specimen from the Santa Rosa Formation attributed to Dromomeron sp., were able to get quite large (femoral length 150–220 mm (5.9–8.7 in)).[8][9] Lagerpetid fossils are rare; the most common finds are bones of the hindlimbs, which possessed a number of unique features.[10]

  1. ^ Müller, R. T.; Ezcurra, M. D.; Garcia, M. S.; Agnolín, F. L.; Stocker, M. R.; Novas, F. E.; Soares, M. B.; Kellner, A. W. A.; Nesbitt, S. J. (2023). "New reptile shows dinosaurs and pterosaurs evolved among diverse precursors". Nature. 620 (7974): 589–594. doi:10.1038/s41586-023-06359-z.
  2. ^ a b Kammerer, Christian F.; Nesbitt, Sterling J.; Flynn, John J.; Ranivoharimanana, Lovasoa; Wyss, André R. (2020-07-28). "A tiny ornithodiran archosaur from the Triassic of Madagascar and the role of miniaturization in dinosaur and pterosaur ancestry". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 117 (30): 17932–17936. doi:10.1073/pnas.1916631117. ISSN 0027-8424. PMC 7395432. PMID 32631980.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference :1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Arcucci, Andrea (1986). "New materials and reinterpretation of Lagerpeton chanarensis Romer (Thecodontia, Lagerpetonidae nov.) from the Middle Triassic of La Rioja, Argentina" (PDF). Ameghiniana. 23 (3–4): 3. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 19, 2019.
  5. ^ Sterling J. Nesbitt; Julia Brenda Desojo; Randall B. Irmis, eds. (2013). Anatomy, Phylogeny and Palaeobiology of Early Archosaurs and Their Kin. The Geological Society of London. p. 164. ISBN 9781862393615. Retrieved 29 March 2016.
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference cabreira2016 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ Garcia, Maurício S.; Müller, Rodrigo T.; Da-Rosa, Átila A.S.; Dias-da-Silva, Sérgio (April 2019). "The oldest known co-occurrence of dinosaurs and their closest relatives: A new lagerpetid from a Carnian (Upper Triassic) bed of Brazil with implications for dinosauromorph biostratigraphy, early diversification and biogeography". Journal of South American Earth Sciences. 91: 302–319. Bibcode:2019JSAES..91..302G. doi:10.1016/j.jsames.2019.02.005. S2CID 133873065.
  8. ^ Ricardo N. Martínez; Cecilia Apaldetti; Gustavo A. Correa; Diego Abelín (2016). "A Norian lagerpetid dinosauromorph from the Quebrada del Barro Formation, northwestern Argentina". Ameghiniana. 53 (1): 1–13. doi:10.5710/AMGH.21.06.2015.2894. S2CID 131613066.
  9. ^ Beyl, Alexander; Nesbitt, Sterling; Stocker, Michelle R. (2020-07-07). "An Otischalkian dinosauromorph assemblage from the Los Esteros Member (Santa Rosa Formation) of New Mexico and its implications for biochronology and lagerpetid body size". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 40: e1765788. doi:10.1080/02724634.2020.1765788. ISSN 0272-4634. S2CID 221751762.
  10. ^ Nesbitt, S.J. (2011). "The Early Evolution of Archosaurs: Relationships and the Origin of Major Clades". Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History. 352: 189. doi:10.1206/352.1. hdl:2246/6112. ISSN 0003-0090. S2CID 83493714.