| Leptopleuron Temporal range: Late Triassic,
| |
|---|---|
| |
| Outdated reconstruction with extended tail length | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Clade: | †Parareptilia |
| Order: | †Procolophonomorpha |
| Family: | †Procolophonidae |
| Tribe: | †Leptopleuronini |
| Genus: | †Leptopleuron Owen, 1851 |
| Type species | |
| †Leptopleuron lacertinum Owen, 1851
| |
| Synonyms | |
Leptopleuron is an extinct genus of procolophonid that lived in the dry lands during the late Triassic in Elgin of northern Scotland and was the first to be included in the clade of Procolophonidae.[1] First described by English paleontologist and biologist Sir Richard Owen, Leptopleuron is derived from two Greek bases, leptos for "slender" and pleuron for "rib," describing it as having slender ribs. The fossil is also known by a second name, Telerpeton, which is derived from the Greek bases tele for "far off" and herpeton for "reptile."[2] In Scotland, Leptopleuron was found specifically in the Lossiemouth Sandstone Formation.[3][4] The yellow sandstone it was located in was poorly lithified with wind coming from the southwest. The environment is also described to consist of barchan dunes due to the winds, ranging up to 20 m tall that spread during dry phases into flood plains.[3] Procolophonoids such as Leptopleuron were considered an essential addition to the terrestrial ecosystem during the Triassic.[5]
- ^ Fraser, Nicholas; Irmis, Randall; Elliott, David (6 March 2005). "A PROCOLOPHONID (PARAREPTILIA) FROM THE OWL ROCK MEMBER, CHINLE FORMATION OF UTAH, USA". Palaeontologia Electronica. 8 (1): 1–7. Retrieved 3 March 2017.
- ^ "Genus: Leptopleuron OWEN, 1851". Paleofile. Retrieved 3 March 2017.
- ^ a b "Lossiemouth West & East Quarries, Elgin (Triassic to of the United Kingdom)". The Paleobiology Database. Retrieved 3 March 2017.
- ^ Benton, Michael (1982). "Progressionism in the 1850s: Lyell, Owen, Mantell and the Elgin fossil reptile Leptopleuron (Telerpeton)". Archives of Natural History. 11 (1): 123–136. doi:10.3366/anh.1982.11.1.123.
- ^ Spencer, Patrick (2000). "The braincase structure of Leptopleuron lacertinum Owen (Parareptilia: Procolophonidae)". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 20 (1): 21–30. doi:10.1671/0272-4634(2000)020[0021:TBSOLL]2.0.CO;2.