Captorhinidae
Encyclopedia
Captorhinidae is one of the earliest and most basal
reptile families.
Captorhinids are a clade of small lizard-like reptiles that date from the late Carboniferous through the Permian
. Their skull
s were much stronger than those of their relatives, the Protorothyrididae
, and had teeth that were better able to deal with tough plant material. The postcrania
l skeleton is very similar to that of advanced reptiliomorph amphibians, so much in fact that the amphibian Seymouriamorpha
and Diadectomorpha
were thought to be reptiles and grouped together in "Cotylosauria" as the first reptiles in the early 20th cantury. Captorhinids have broad, robust skulls that are generally triangular in shape when seen in dorsal view. The premaxilla
e are characteristically downturned. Early, smaller forms possessed single rows of teeth, while larger, more derived forms such as Captorhinus
and Moradisaurus possessed multiple rows of teeth.
Until recently, Concordia cunninghami was thought to be the basalmost known member of Captorhinidae. A noval phylogenic study of primitive reptile relationships by Muller & Reisz in 2006 recovered Thuringothyris
as a sister taxon of the Captorhinidae, and therefore, by definition, Thuringothyris represents the basalmost known captorhinid. The same results were obtained in later phylogenic analyses. Concordia is still the earliest known captorhinid as all other captorhinid taxa are known only from Permian
deposits.
Captorhinidae contains a single subfamily, the Moradisaurinae. Moradisaurinae was named and assigned to the family
Captorhinidae
by A. D. Riquès and P. Taquet in 1982. Moradisaurinae was defined as "all captorhinids more closely related to Moradisaurus than to Captorhinus
". The moradisaurines inhabited what is now China
, Morocco
, Niger
, Russia
, Texas
and Oklahoma
. The moradisaurines were insectivore
s/herbivore
s, meaning that they only ate insect
s and plant life.
Captorhinids were once thought to be the ancestors of turtle
s. The Middle Permian reptile Eunotosaurus from South Africa
was seen as the "missing link
" between cotylosaurs and Chelonia throughout much of the early 20th century. However, more recent fossil finds have shown that Eunotosaurus is a parareptile unrelated to either turtles or captorhinids.
below was recovered in a study by Sumida et al., 2010.
The cladogram below follows the topology from a 2011 analysis by paleontologists Robert R. Reisz
, Jun Liu, Jin-Ling Li and Johannes Müller.
Basal (phylogenetics)
In phylogenetics, a basal clade is the earliest clade to branch in a larger clade; it appears at the base of a cladogram.A basal group forms an outgroup to the rest of the clade, such as in the following example:...
reptile families.
Description
Permian
The PermianThe term "Permian" was introduced into geology in 1841 by Sir Sir R. I. Murchison, president of the Geological Society of London, who identified typical strata in extensive Russian explorations undertaken with Edouard de Verneuil; Murchison asserted in 1841 that he named his "Permian...
. Their skull
Skull
The skull is a bony structure in the head of many animals that supports the structures of the face and forms a cavity for the brain.The skull is composed of two parts: the cranium and the mandible. A skull without a mandible is only a cranium. Animals that have skulls are called craniates...
s were much stronger than those of their relatives, the Protorothyrididae
Protorothyrididae
Protorothyrididae is a family of small, lizard-like reptiles. Their skulls did not have fenestrae, as is also true of modern turtles and tortoises. Protorothyridids lived from the Late Carboniferous to Early Permian periods, in what is now North America. Many genera of primitive reptiles were...
, and had teeth that were better able to deal with tough plant material. The postcrania
Postcrania
Postcrania[p] in zoology and vertebrate paleontology refers to all or part of the skeleton apart from the skull. Frequently, fossil remains, e.g...
l skeleton is very similar to that of advanced reptiliomorph amphibians, so much in fact that the amphibian Seymouriamorpha
Seymouriamorpha
Seymouriamorpha were a small but widespread group of reptiliomorphs. Many seymouriamorphs were terrestrial or semi-aquatic. However, aquatic larvae bearing external gills and grooves from the lateral line system has been found, making them unquestionably amphibians. The adults were terrestrial...
and Diadectomorpha
Diadectomorpha
Diadectomorpha are a clade of large reptile-like amphibians that lived in Euramerica during the Carboniferous and Early Permian periods, and are very close to the ancestry of the Amniota. They include both large carnivorous and even larger herbivorous forms, some semi-aquatic and others fully...
were thought to be reptiles and grouped together in "Cotylosauria" as the first reptiles in the early 20th cantury. Captorhinids have broad, robust skulls that are generally triangular in shape when seen in dorsal view. The premaxilla
Premaxilla
The incisive bone is the portion of the maxilla adjacent to the incisors. It is a pair of small cranial bones at the very tip of the jaws of many animals, usually bearing teeth, but not always. They are connected to the maxilla and the nasals....
e are characteristically downturned. Early, smaller forms possessed single rows of teeth, while larger, more derived forms such as Captorhinus
Captorhinus
Captorhinus is an extinct genus of Captorhinidae that lived in the Permian. Its remains are known from North America. An immature specimen of Captorhinus was originally named Bayloria, and classified as a member of the synapsid group Eothyrididae.-Species:1. Captorhinus aguti = C. isolomus = C....
and Moradisaurus possessed multiple rows of teeth.
Discovery and History
Thuringothyris
Thuringothyris is an extinct genus of Early Permian captorinid known from the Free State of Thuringia of central Germany.-Description:Thuringothyris is known from the holotype MNG 7729, articulated well-preserved skull and partial postcranial skeleton, and from the referred specimens...
as a sister taxon of the Captorhinidae, and therefore, by definition, Thuringothyris represents the basalmost known captorhinid. The same results were obtained in later phylogenic analyses. Concordia is still the earliest known captorhinid as all other captorhinid taxa are known only from Permian
Permian
The PermianThe term "Permian" was introduced into geology in 1841 by Sir Sir R. I. Murchison, president of the Geological Society of London, who identified typical strata in extensive Russian explorations undertaken with Edouard de Verneuil; Murchison asserted in 1841 that he named his "Permian...
deposits.
Captorhinidae contains a single subfamily, the Moradisaurinae. Moradisaurinae was named and assigned to the family
Family (biology)
In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...
Captorhinidae
Captorhinidae
Captorhinidae is one of the earliest and most basal reptile families.-Description:...
by A. D. Riquès and P. Taquet in 1982. Moradisaurinae was defined as "all captorhinids more closely related to Moradisaurus than to Captorhinus
Captorhinus
Captorhinus is an extinct genus of Captorhinidae that lived in the Permian. Its remains are known from North America. An immature specimen of Captorhinus was originally named Bayloria, and classified as a member of the synapsid group Eothyrididae.-Species:1. Captorhinus aguti = C. isolomus = C....
". The moradisaurines inhabited what is now China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
, Morocco
Morocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
, Niger
Niger
Niger , officially named the Republic of Niger, is a landlocked country in Western Africa, named after the Niger River. It borders Nigeria and Benin to the south, Burkina Faso and Mali to the west, Algeria and Libya to the north and Chad to the east...
, Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
and Oklahoma
Oklahoma
Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...
. The moradisaurines were insectivore
Insectivore
An insectivore is a type of carnivore with a diet that consists chiefly of insects and similar small creatures. An alternate term is entomophage, which also refers to the human practice of eating insects....
s/herbivore
Herbivore
Herbivores are organisms that are anatomically and physiologically adapted to eat plant-based foods. Herbivory is a form of consumption in which an organism principally eats autotrophs such as plants, algae and photosynthesizing bacteria. More generally, organisms that feed on autotrophs in...
s, meaning that they only ate insect
Insect
Insects are a class of living creatures within the arthropods that have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body , three pairs of jointed legs, compound eyes, and two antennae...
s and plant life.
Captorhinids were once thought to be the ancestors of turtle
Turtle
Turtles are reptiles of the order Testudines , characterised by a special bony or cartilaginous shell developed from their ribs that acts as a shield...
s. The Middle Permian reptile Eunotosaurus from South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
was seen as the "missing link
Missing Link
Missing link is a nonscientific term for any transitional fossil, especially one connected with human evolution; see Transitional fossil - Missing links and List of transitonal fossils - Human evolution.Missing Link may refer to:...
" between cotylosaurs and Chelonia throughout much of the early 20th century. However, more recent fossil finds have shown that Eunotosaurus is a parareptile unrelated to either turtles or captorhinids.
Taxonomy
The following taxonomy follows Reisz et al., 2011 and Sumida et al., 2010 unless otherwise noted.- Family Captorhinidae
- Captorhinoides?
- EocaptorhinusEocaptorhinusEocaptorhinus is an extinct genus of anapsid reptile resembling a lizard with high back, short toes and a flattened, triangular head. There has been some question about the taxonomy: some scientists have classified it as synonymous with its close relative Captorhinus....
? - AcrodentaAcrodentaAcrodenta is an extinct genus of Late Permian captorinid known from Marrakech-Tensift-Al Haouz of Morocco.-Description:Acrodenta is known from the holotype MNHN ARG 506, formerly 69.Ir.1.JMD, a fragment of right maxilla...
- BaeotheratesBaeotheratesBaeotherates is an extinct genus of Early Permian captorinid known from Oklahoma of the USA.-Description:Baeotherates is known from the holotype OMNH 55758, a right mandible...
- CaptorhinusCaptorhinusCaptorhinus is an extinct genus of Captorhinidae that lived in the Permian. Its remains are known from North America. An immature specimen of Captorhinus was originally named Bayloria, and classified as a member of the synapsid group Eothyrididae.-Species:1. Captorhinus aguti = C. isolomus = C....
- ConcordiaConcordia (genus)Concordia is an extinct genus of Late Carboniferous captorinid known from Greenwood County, Kansas of the United States.-Description:Concordia is known from the holotype KUVP 8702a&b, well preserved skull in dorsal view along with its counterpart, a partial preserved braincase in ventral view,...
- ProtocaptorhinusProtocaptorhinusProtocaptorhinus is an extinct genus of Early Permian known from Texas of the United States. It is known from the holotype MCZ 1478, a three-dimensionally preserved partial skull. It was collected in the Rattlesnake Canyon site from the Petrolia Formation...
- ReiszorhinusReiszorhinusReiszorhinus is an extinct genus of Early Permian captorinid known from the United States. The type species is Reiszorhinus olsoni. Fossils have been found from the Waggoner Ranch Formation in north-central Texas. It is distinguishable by its recurved teeth and extremely large Meckelian foramen on...
- RhiodenticulatusRhiodenticulatusRhiodenticulatus is an extinct genus of Early Permian captorinid known from Rio Arriba County, New Mexico of the United States.-Description:...
- RomeriaRomeria (genus)Romeria is an extinct genus of Early Permian captorinid known from Texas of the United States. It was first named by Llewellyn Ivor Price in 1937 and the type species is Romeria texana. R. texana is known from the holotype MCZ 1480, a three-dimensionally preserved skull...
- SaurorictusSaurorictusSaurorictus is an extinct genus of Late Permian captorinid known from Western Cape Province of South Africa.-Description:Saurorictus is known from the holotype SAM PK-8666, three-dimensionally preserved nearly complete skull and few postcranial fragments. The skull has a length of 22...
- ThuringothyrisThuringothyrisThuringothyris is an extinct genus of Early Permian captorinid known from the Free State of Thuringia of central Germany.-Description:Thuringothyris is known from the holotype MNG 7729, articulated well-preserved skull and partial postcranial skeleton, and from the referred specimens...
- Subfamily Moradisaurinae
- Gecatogomphius
- Kahneria
- Captorhinikos
- LabidosaurusLabidosaurusLabidosaurus is an extinct genus of anapsid reptile from the Permian period of North America. Fossils have been discovered in Texas.Labidosaurus was heavily built, resembling a lizard with a large head, and measuring about long...
- LabidosaurikosLabidosaurikosLabidosaurikos is an extinct genus of prehistoric reptile....
- Moradisaurus
- Rothaniscus
- GansurhinusGansurhinusGansurhinus is an extinct genus of moradisaurine captorinid known from the Middle Permian of China. It was first named by Robert R. Reisz, Jun Liu, Jin-Ling Li and Johannes Müller in 2011 and the type species is Gansurhinus qingtoushanensis....
- DubiousNomen dubiumIn zoological nomenclature, a nomen dubium is a scientific name that is of unknown or doubtful application...
Captorhinids- Peurcosaurus
- Riabininus
Phylogeny
The cladogramCladogram
A cladogram is a diagram used in cladistics which shows ancestral relations between organisms, to represent the evolutionary tree of life. Although traditionally such cladograms were generated largely on the basis of morphological characters, DNA and RNA sequencing data and computational...
below was recovered in a study by Sumida et al., 2010.
The cladogram below follows the topology from a 2011 analysis by paleontologists Robert R. Reisz
Robert R. Reisz
Robert Rafael Reisz is a Canadian paleontologist and specialist in the study of early amniote and tetrapod evolution.Robert Reisz was born August 27, 1947, in Oradea, Romania. He received his B.Sc. , M.Sc. and Ph.D. from McGill University as Robert L. Carroll’s first doctoral graduate...
, Jun Liu, Jin-Ling Li and Johannes Müller.