A Reassessment of the Taxonomic Position of Mesosaurs, and a Surprising Phylogeny of Early Amniotes

@article{Laurin2017ARO,
  title={A Reassessment of the Taxonomic Position of Mesosaurs, and a Surprising Phylogeny of Early Amniotes},
  author={Michel Laurin and Graciela Pi{\~n}eiro},
  journal={Frontiers in Earth Science},
  year={2017},
  volume={5},
  pages={88}
}
We reassess the phylogenetic position of mesosaurs by using a data matrix that is updated and slightly expanded from a matrix that the first author published in 1995 with his former thesis advisor. The revised matrix, which incorporates anatomical information published in the last twenty years and observations on several mesosaur specimens (mostly from Uruguay) includes seventeen terminal taxa and 129 characters (four more taxa and five more characters than the original matrix from 1995). The… 
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27 Citations

Isometry in mesosaurs: implications for growth patterns in early amniotes

TLDR
The well-defined isometry, and particularly, the high interrelation between metatarsals and phalanges permit us to suggest that the mesosaur hind limb is subject to notable modularity, which would position them as more basal amniotes than previously thought.

A Reassessment of the Taxonomic Position of Mesosaurs Based on Two Data Matrices

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This paper responds to the two central comments published by MacDougall et al. in 2018, who argue that variability in the temporal fenestration of early sauropsids, combined with the omission of several recently-described parareptile taxa, explain the differences in topologies between their study and the authors'.

Response: Commentary: A Reassessment of the Taxonomic Position of Mesosaurs, and a Surprising Phylogeny of Early Amniotes

Ontogenetic, dietary, and environmental shifts in Mesosauridae

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A large dataset of morphometric measurements from 270 mesosaur specimens in collections around the world is looked at, suggesting that mesosaurs underwent a diet and lifestyle transition during ontogeny, from an active predatory lifestyle as juveniles to a more filter-feeding diet as adults.

Skull Sutures and Cranial Mechanics in the Permian Reptile Captorhinus aguti and the Evolution of the Temporal Region in Early Amniotes

TLDR
The sutures in the dermatocranium of the Permian reptile Captorhinus aguti are described in detail to illustrate bone integrity in an early non-fenestrated amniote skull and it is argued that these “weak” areas are prone for the development of temporal openings and may be treated as the possible precursors for infratemporal and supratemporal fenestrae in early amniotes.

An additional specimen of owenettid procolophonoid from the Middle Triassic of Southern Brazil

TLDR
A morphological disparity analysis reveals no overlapped areas between the morphospace occupied by procolophonids and owenettids, reinforcing the existence of these two distinct groups.

A New Cranial Reconstruction of Coelurosauravus elivensis Piveteau, 1926 (Diapsida, Weigeltisauridae) and Its Implications on the Paleoecology of the First Gliding Vertebrates

ABSTRACT The cranial skeleton of the enigmatic gliding neodiapsid reptile Coelurosauravus elivensis (Lower Sakamena Formation, Lopingian, Southwestern Madagascar) is re-described in detail. All…

The locomotion of extinct secondarily aquatic tetrapods

  • Susana GutarraI. Rahman
  • Biology, Environmental Science
    Biological reviews of the Cambridge Philosophical Society
  • 2021
TLDR
An overview of the latest research on the locomotion of extinct secondarily aquatic tetrapods, with a focus on amniotes, highlighting the state‐of‐the‐art experimental approaches used in this field and discussing the suitability of these techniques for exploring different aspects of locomotory adaptation.

The First Age of Reptiles? Comparing Reptile and Synapsid Diversity, and the Influence of Lagerstätten, During the Carboniferous and Early Permian

  • N. Brocklehurst
  • Environmental Science, Biology
    Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution
  • 2021
TLDR
An examination of local species richness (alpha diversity) of synapsids and reptiles during the Pennsylvanian and Cisuralian at different spatial scales shows that these taxonomic revisions have substantial impacts on relative diversity patterns of synapid and reptiles.

Morphology of the temporal skull region in tetrapods: research history, functional explanations, and a new comprehensive classification scheme

  • Pascal AbelI. Werneburg
  • Environmental Science, Biology
    Biological reviews of the Cambridge Philosophical Society
  • 2021
TLDR
A novel comprehensive classification scheme for the various temporal morphotypes in all Tetrapoda that is independent of phylogeny and previous terminology is introduced that may facilitate morphological comparisons in future studies.

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