From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
  (Redirected from Diapsida)
Jump to: navigation, search
Diapsid reptiles
Temporal range: Pennsylvanian-Present, 302–0Ma
Omeisaurus tianfuensis2.jpg
Omeisaurus tianfuensis
Scientific classification e
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Clade: Romeriida
Clade: Diapsida
Osborn, 1903


Diapsids ("two arches") are a group of amniote tetrapods that developed two holes (temporal fenestra) in each side of their skulls about 300 million years ago during the late Carboniferous period.[1] The diapsids are extremely diverse, and include all crocodiles, lizards, snakes, tuatara, birds and non-avian dinosaurs. Although some diapsids have lost either one hole (lizards), or both holes (snakes), or have a heavily restructured skull (modern birds), they are still classified as diapsids based on their ancestry. At least 7,925 species of diapsid reptiles[2] exist in environments around the world today (nearly 18,000 when birds are included).


diagram of the diapsid skull




Well-known extinct diapsid groups include the pterosaurs, plesiosaurs, and mosasaurs; many more obscure lineages once existed. The classification of most of the early groups is fluid and subject to change.


Diapsids of uncertain placement (incertae sedis)



Cladogram after Bickelmann et al., 2009[3] and Reisz et al., 2011:[4]
















See also[edit]


  1. ^ "Those diverse diapsids". 
  2. ^ http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0118199
  3. ^ Constanze Bickelmann, Johannes Müller and Robert R. Reisz (2009). "The enigmatic diapsid Acerosodontosaurus piveteaui (Reptilia: Neodiapsida) from the Upper Permian of Madagascar and the paraphyly of younginiform reptiles". Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences 49 (9): 651–661. doi:10.1139/E09-038. 
  4. ^ Robert R. Reisz, Sean P. Modesto and Diane M. Scott (2011). "A new Early Permian reptile and its significance in early diapsid evolution". Proceedings of the Royal Society B 278 (1725): 3731–7. doi:10.1098/rspb.2011.0439. PMC 3203498. PMID 21525061. 

External links[edit]