Lizards are ancient creatures. They existed before the dinosaurs appeared and persisted long after the dinosaurs went extinct. It turns out they’re 35 million years older than we thought.
Cryptovaranoides microlanius It was a small lizard that flew around what is now southern England during the late Triassic period, about 205 million years ago. It probably caught insects with its razor teeth (its name means “hidden lizard, little butcher”). However, it was not always considered a lizard. A group of researchers who previously studied the creature’s first fossil, or holotype, concluded that it was an archosaur, part of a group that included living crocodiles and birds, as well as extinct dinosaurs and pterosaurs. Ta.
Now, another research team at the University of Bristol has analyzed the fossil and found that: cryptobalanoides It is a lepidosaur, not an archosaur, and is part of a larger family of reptiles that includes Squamatora, a group of reptiles that includes modern snakes and lizards. It is also currently the oldest known squamate.
All misconceptions about this species come down to the scaly non-trait bony character. These are traits unique to squamates, which were not present in the ancestral form but evolved later. Certain forelimb bones, skulls, jaw bones, and even teeth cryptobalanoides It shares characteristics with lizards, both modern and extinct.
Wait, what is that?
So what does the new team claim that the previous team studied? cryptobalanoides Am I wrong? The new paper argues that the interpretation of several bones, particularly the humerus and radius, stands out.
In this lizard’s humerus, structures called the lateral and mesocondylar foramen, along with the radial condyle, may not have been considered or may have been misunderstood. The intracondylar foramen is an opening at the distal end of the humerus, which corresponds to the humerus bone in humans and the upper forelimb bone in lizards. The lateral picondylar foramen is a structure on the outside of the humerus where the extensor muscles attach, and helps the lizard bend and straighten its legs. Both traits are “often considered key features of lepidosaurs and squamates,” the Bristol team said in their paper. study It was recently published in the Royal Society Open Science.
