Diapsid
Encyclopedia
Diapsids are a group of reptile
s that developed two holes (temporal fenestra) in each side of their skull
s, about 300 million years ago during the late Carboniferous
period. Living diapsids are extremely diverse, and include all crocodile
s, lizard
s, snake
s, and tuatara
. Under modern classification systems, even bird
s are considered diapsids, since they evolved from diapsid ancestors and are nested within the diapsid clade
. While some diapsids have lost either one hole (lizards), or both holes (snakes), or even have a heavily restructured skull (modern birds), they are still classified as diapsids based on their ancestry. There are at least 7,925 species
of diapsid reptile existing in environments around the world today (over 14,600 when birds are included).
), compared to the upper arm bone (humerus
).
(one opening high on the skull, including many prehistoric marine reptiles). With the advent of phylogenetic nomenclature
, this system of classification was heavily modified. The Synapsids today are often not considered true reptiles, while the Euryapsida was found to be an unnatural assemblage of diapsids that had lost one of their skull openings. Some studies have suggested that this is the case in turtles as well, and that turtles are actually heavily modified diapsids, which would leave only some prehistoric forms in the Anapsida. In phylogenetic systems, birds (descendants of traditional diapsid reptiles) are also considered to be members of this group.
Well known extinct diapsid groups include the dinosaur
s, pterosaur
s, plesiosaur
s, mosasaur
s, and many more obscure lineages. The classification of most of the early groups is fluid and subject to change.
Diapsids of uncertain placement (incertae sedis)
showing the relations of the major groups of diapsids.
Cladogram
after Bickelmann et al., 2009 and Reisz et al., 2011:
Reptile
Reptiles are members of a class of air-breathing, ectothermic vertebrates which are characterized by laying shelled eggs , and having skin covered in scales and/or scutes. They are tetrapods, either having four limbs or being descended from four-limbed ancestors...
s that developed two holes (temporal fenestra) in each side of 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, about 300 million years ago during the late Carboniferous
Carboniferous
The Carboniferous is a geologic period and system that extends from the end of the Devonian Period, about 359.2 ± 2.5 Mya , to the beginning of the Permian Period, about 299.0 ± 0.8 Mya . The name is derived from the Latin word for coal, carbo. Carboniferous means "coal-bearing"...
period. Living diapsids are extremely diverse, and include all crocodile
Crocodile
A crocodile is any species belonging to the family Crocodylidae . The term can also be used more loosely to include all extant members of the order Crocodilia: i.e...
s, lizard
Lizard
Lizards are a widespread group of squamate reptiles, with nearly 3800 species, ranging across all continents except Antarctica as well as most oceanic island chains...
s, snake
Snake
Snakes are elongate, legless, carnivorous reptiles of the suborder Serpentes that can be distinguished from legless lizards by their lack of eyelids and external ears. Like all squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping scales...
s, and tuatara
Tuatara
The tuatara is a reptile endemic to New Zealand which, though it resembles most lizards, is actually part of a distinct lineage, order Sphenodontia. The two species of tuatara are the only surviving members of its order, which flourished around 200 million years ago. Their most recent common...
. Under modern classification systems, even bird
Bird
Birds are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic , egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species and 188 families makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from...
s are considered diapsids, since they evolved from diapsid ancestors and are nested within the diapsid clade
Clade
A clade is a group consisting of a species and all its descendants. In the terms of biological systematics, a clade is a single "branch" on the "tree of life". The idea that such a "natural group" of organisms should be grouped together and given a taxonomic name is central to biological...
. While some diapsids have lost either one hole (lizards), or both holes (snakes), or even have a heavily restructured skull (modern birds), they are still classified as diapsids based on their ancestry. There are at least 7,925 species
Species
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
of diapsid reptile existing in environments around the world today (over 14,600 when birds are included).
Characteristics
The name Diapsida means "two arches", and diapsids are traditionally classified based on their two ancestral skull openings (temporal fenestrae) posteriorly above and below the eye. This arrangement allows for the attachment of larger, stronger jaw muscles, and enables the jaw to open more widely. A more obscure ancestral characteristic is a relatively long lower arm bone (the radiusRadius (bone)
The radius is one of the two large bones of the forearm, the other being the ulna. It extends from the lateral side of the elbow to the thumb side of the wrist and runs parallel to the ulna, which exceeds it in length and size. It is a long bone, prism-shaped and slightly curved longitudinally...
), compared to the upper arm bone (humerus
Humerus
The humerus is a long bone in the arm or forelimb that runs from the shoulder to the elbow....
).
Systematics
Diapsids were originally classified as one of four subclasses of the class Reptilia, all of which were based on the number and arrangement of openings in the skull. The other three subclasses were Synapsida (one opening low on the skull, for the "mammal-like reptiles"), Anapsida (no skull opening, including turtles and their relatives), and EuryapsidaEuryapsida
Euryapsida is a polyphyletic group of reptiles that are distinguished by a single temporal fenestra, an opening behind the orbit, under which the post-orbital and squamosal bones articulate. They are different from Synapsida, which also have a single opening behind the orbit, by the placement of...
(one opening high on the skull, including many prehistoric marine reptiles). With the advent of phylogenetic nomenclature
Phylogenetic nomenclature
Phylogenetic nomenclature or phylogenetic taxonomy is an alternative to rank-based nomenclature, applying definitions from cladistics . Its two defining features are the use of phylogenetic definitions of biological taxon names, and the lack of obligatory ranks...
, this system of classification was heavily modified. The Synapsids today are often not considered true reptiles, while the Euryapsida was found to be an unnatural assemblage of diapsids that had lost one of their skull openings. Some studies have suggested that this is the case in turtles as well, and that turtles are actually heavily modified diapsids, which would leave only some prehistoric forms in the Anapsida. In phylogenetic systems, birds (descendants of traditional diapsid reptiles) are also considered to be members of this group.
Well known extinct diapsid groups include the dinosaur
Dinosaur
Dinosaurs are a diverse group of animals of the clade and superorder Dinosauria. They were the dominant terrestrial vertebrates for over 160 million years, from the late Triassic period until the end of the Cretaceous , when the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event led to the extinction of...
s, pterosaur
Pterosaur
Pterosaurs were flying reptiles of the clade or order Pterosauria. They existed from the late Triassic to the end of the Cretaceous Period . Pterosaurs are the earliest vertebrates known to have evolved powered flight...
s, plesiosaur
Plesiosaur
Plesiosauroidea is an extinct clade of carnivorous plesiosaur marine reptiles. Plesiosauroids, are known from the Jurassic and Cretaceous Periods...
s, mosasaur
Mosasaur
Mosasaurs are large extinct marine lizards. The first fossil remains were discovered in a limestone quarry at Maastricht on the Meuse in 1764...
s, and many more obscure lineages. The classification of most of the early groups is fluid and subject to change.
Taxonomy
- Subclass DIAPSIDA
- Order AraeoscelidiaAraeoscelidiaAraeoscelidia or Araeoscelida is a clade of extinct diapsid reptiles superficially resembling lizards, extending from the Late Carboniferous to the Early Permian....
- Order AvicephalaAvicephalathumb|right|Artist's reconstruction of [[Coelurosauravus]]Avicephala is a possibly polyphyletic and therefore disused clade of diapsid reptiles that lived during the Late Permian and Triassic periods...
(polyphyletic) - Order YounginiformesYounginiformesYounginiformes is a replacement name for the taxon Eosuchia, proposed by Alfred Romer in 1947.The Eosuchia having become rather a dustbin for many probably distantly-related primitive diapsid reptiles ranging from the late Carboniferous to the Eocene, Romer proposed that this be replaced by...
(paraphyletic) - Order HupehsuchiaHupehsuchiaHupehsuchia is an order of diapsid reptiles, of which Nanchangosauridae is the only family. The order was short-lasting, with a temporal range restricted to the Spathian age of the late Olenekian, spanning only a few million years of the Early Triassic...
- Order ThalattosaurThalattosaurThalattosaurs are a group of prehistoric marine reptiles which lived during the mid-late Triassic Period. Some species of thalattosaur grew to over 4 meters in length, including a long, flattened tail used in underwater propulsion...
ia - Superorder IchthyopterygiaIchthyopterygiaIchthyopterygia was a designation introduced by Sir Richard Owen in 1840 to designate the Jurassic ichthyosaurs that were known at the time, but the term is now used more often for both true Ichthyosauria and their more primitive early and middle Triassic ancestors.Basal ichthyopterygians were...
(ichthyosaurIchthyosaurIchthyosaurs were giant marine reptiles that resembled fish and dolphins...
s) - unranked SauriaSauriaSauria is a clade of reptiles that includes all living diapsids, as well as their common ancestor and all its extinct descendants. The ancestral saurian was probably a small lizard-like creature living in the Permian Period...
- Infraclass LepidosauromorphaLepidosauromorphaLepidosauromorpha is a group of reptiles comprising all diapsids closer to lizards than to archosaurs . The only living sub-group is the Lepidosauria: extant lizards, snakes, and tuatara...
- Order EolacertiliaEolacertiliaEolacertilia is a group of extinct diapsid reptiles that may be the ancestors of snakes and lizards. It is uncertain as to whether they are a natural group and it has been suggested that they form a "waste basket" taxon....
- Superorder LepidosauriaLepidosauriaThe Lepidosauria are reptiles with overlapping scales. This subclass includes Squamata and Sphenodontidae. It is a monophyletic group and therefore contains all descendents of a common ancestor. The squamata includes snakes, lizards, tuataras, and amphisbaenia. Lepidosauria is the sister taxon...
(tuataraTuataraThe tuatara is a reptile endemic to New Zealand which, though it resembles most lizards, is actually part of a distinct lineage, order Sphenodontia. The two species of tuatara are the only surviving members of its order, which flourished around 200 million years ago. Their most recent common...
, lizards, amphisbaenians and snakeSnakeSnakes are elongate, legless, carnivorous reptiles of the suborder Serpentes that can be distinguished from legless lizards by their lack of eyelids and external ears. Like all squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping scales...
s) - Superorder SauropterygiaSauropterygiaSauropterygia were a group of very successful aquatic reptiles that flourished during the Mesozoic before they became extinct at the end of the era. They were united by a radical adaptation of their shoulder, designed to support powerful flipper strokes...
(plesiosaurs and relatives)
- Order Eolacertilia
- Infraclass ArchosauromorphaArchosauromorphaArchosauromorpha is an infraclass of diapsid reptiles that first appeared during the late Permian and became more common during the Triassic. Included in this infraclass are the groups Rhynchosauria, Trilophosauridae, Prolacertiformes, Archosauriformes, and, tentatively, Choristodera...
- Order Aetosauria
- Order ChoristoderaChoristoderaChoristodera is an order of semi-aquatic diapsid reptiles which ranged from the Middle Jurassic, or possibly Late Triassic, to at least the early Miocene. Choristoderes have been found in North America, Asia, and Europe. The most common fossils are typically found from the Late Cretaceous to the...
- Order Phytosauria
- Order ProlacertiformesProlacertiformesProlacertiformes were an order of archosauromorph reptiles that lived during the Permian and Triassic Periods...
- Order Pterosauria
- Order RauisuchiaRauisuchiaRauisuchia is a group of predatory and mostly large Triassic archosaurs. As a clade, Rauisuchia includes these Triassic forms and all crocodylomorphs, which are descendants of Triassic rauisuchians. The group in its traditional sense is paraphyletic, because it does not include crocodylomorph...
- Order Rhynchosauria
- Order Trilophosauria
- Superorder CrocodylomorphaCrocodylomorphaThe Crocodylomorpha are an important group of archosaurs that include the crocodilians and their extinct relatives.During Mesozoic and early Tertiary times the Crocodylomorpha were far more diverse than they are now. Triassic forms were small, lightly built, active terrestrial animals. These were...
(crocodileCrocodileA crocodile is any species belonging to the family Crocodylidae . The term can also be used more loosely to include all extant members of the order Crocodilia: i.e...
s and extinct relatives) - Superorder DinosaurDinosaurDinosaurs are a diverse group of animals of the clade and superorder Dinosauria. They were the dominant terrestrial vertebrates for over 160 million years, from the late Triassic period until the end of the Cretaceous , when the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event led to the extinction of...
ia
- Infraclass Lepidosauromorpha
- Order Araeoscelidia
Diapsids of uncertain placement (incertae sedis)
- Sphodrosaurus
- Palacrodon
- OmphalosaurusOmphalosaurusOmphalosaurus is an extinct genus of marine reptile from the Early Triassic of Spitsbergen.It has generally been considered an ichthyopterygian until Motani showed that it lacks the basal synapomorphies of Ichthyopterygia. However, Maisch described a new species and restated the affinity with...
Phylogeny
Below is a 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...
showing the relations of the major groups of diapsids.
Cladogram
Cladogram
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...
after Bickelmann et al., 2009 and Reisz et al., 2011:
External links
- Diapsida. Michel Laurin and Jacques A. Gauthier. Tree of Life Web Project. June 22, 2000.
- Diapsida Cladogram at Mikko's Phylogeny ArchiveMikko's Phylogeny ArchiveMikko's Phylogeny Archive is an amateur paleontology website maintained by Mikko Haaramo, a student at the University of Helsinki's Department of Geology, Division of Geology and Palaeontology....