Knowra Evolution of reptiles Evolution of reptiles The evolutionary history of reptiles, from early amniotes to the diversification of living and extinct lineages. It includes major changes in anatomy, ecology, and relationships among reptile groups.
Amniote : A tetrapod whose embryo develops within an amnion, enabling reproduction away from open water. Reptiles arose within this broader vertebrate group, alongside mammals.
Amniotic egg : An egg whose membranes protect and nourish an embryo in a self-contained aquatic environment. Its evolutionary origin helped amniotes reproduce on land.
Mesosaur : An extinct aquatic reptile from the Early Permian of southern Africa and South America. Its distribution provides early evidence of reptile adaptation to aquatic life.
Cladistics : A method of classifying organisms by shared derived traits and branching evolutionary relationships. Cladistics tests whether traditional reptile groups correspond to complete evolutionary branches.
Mesozoic : The geological era lasting from about 252 to 66 million years ago, divided into the Triassic, Jurassic, and Cretaceous periods. Reptiles diversified extensively during this era, including dinosaurs and marine forms.
Hylonomus : An extinct Late Carboniferous reptile known from fossils in Nova Scotia, Canada. Its fossils document among the earliest well-established reptiles.
Temporal fenestra : An opening in the skull behind the eye socket, associated with jaw-muscle anatomy. The pattern of these openings helps distinguish major early amniote lineages.
Ichthyosaur : An extinct marine reptile group whose members often had streamlined, fishlike bodies. Ichthyosaurs show how reptiles independently adapted to life in the open ocean.
Reptilia : A taxonomic group whose membership varies between traditional classifications and evolutionary definitions. Including birds changes whether reptiles form a complete branch of their ancestry.
Bird evolution : The evolutionary history of birds from theropod dinosaurs, extending from the Mesozoic to the present. It is the surviving continuation of one major dinosaur lineage.
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