#rhynchocephalian

[fossilized-starlight]

Clevosaurus hudsoni

[antiqueanimals]

Rhynchocephalian. From Prehistoric Animals, written/illustrated by William E. Scheele. 1954.

[pleistocene-pride]

The Tuatara is a species of reptile endemic to New Zealand and its surrounding islands, belonging to the genus Sphenodon. Their name derives from the Māori language, and means "peaks on the back" referencing their unique spiny vertebral crests. Although resembling most lizards, they are part of a unique lineage of reptiles, the order Rhynchocephalia, which originated in the Triassic period around 250 million years ago and flourished throughout the Mesozoic until being near completely wiped out by the KPG mass extinction event some 66 million years ago. Tuatara are typically a mix of green, brown, and gray in color, measure upwards 31 inches in length and upwards of 3lbs in weight. They sport a spiny white crest along the back, two rows of teeth in the upper jaw overlapping one row on the lower jaw, and are able to hear remarkably well despite lacking an external ear. They are also unusual in having a pronounced photoreceptive third eye, which is thought to be involved in sensing circadian and seasonal cycles. Tuataras thrive in temperatures much lower than those tolerated by most reptiles, and hibernate during winter. Their diet consists of insects, arachnids, crustaceans, other arthropods, frogs, lizards, and bird eggs. While juveniles are diurnal, adults are typically nocturnal or crepuscular depending on the season, spending the day inside of shallow burrows which they may share with seabirds such as petrels, prions, and shearwaters. Tuatara probably have the slowest growth rates of any reptile taking 10 to 20 years to reach sexual maturity, and up to 35 years to reach full size. Mating occurs in midsummer typically once every four years. Mothers lay 2 to 19 white, soft-shelled eggs in nesting burrows, which are covered and incubated for 12 to 15 months before hatching. Barring tortoises, tuataras have the longest lifespan of any reptile with individuals regularly living well past 100 years.

[gojira-ekkusu]

Additional Illustrations of Prehistoric Creatures from Rodan (1956)

[extinctworld-ua]

Opisthiamimus

Opisthiamimus — вимерлий рід невеликих ринхоцефалів-еусфенодонтів з верхньої юри моррісонської формації Північного Вайомінгу, США. Типовий вид, O. gregori, відомий за чотирма зразками, які разом демонструють майже повний скелет.

Повний текст на сайті "Вимерлий світ":

https://extinctworld.in.ua/opisthiamimus/

[drhoz]

#1962 -  Sphenodon punctatus - Tuatara

The name tuatara is derived from the Māori language and means "peaks on the back". The generic name refers to the wedge-shaped teeth.

New Zealand’s most famous reptiles, but despite their appearence they’re not lizards. The only surviving member of the order Rhynchocephalia, that originated during the Triassic (~250 million years ago) and with the exception of this lineage, were extinct by 60 million years ago

Tuatara are greenish brown and grey, and measure up to 80 cm from head to tail-tip. Uniquely for living species, they have two rows of teeth in the upper jaw overlapping one row on the lower jaw. They have no external ear opening, and a number of other skull details that were the first hint that these weren’t actually lizards.

One of those oddities is the very well-developed parietal eye, on the forehead - complete with a lens, retina and degenerate nerve connection to the brain. It’s not sure what use they actually are.

Tuatara do best in temperatures much lower than those tolerated by most reptiles, and remain active in temperatures as low as 5 °C (41 °F), and hibernate during winter. Temperatures over 28 °C (82 °F) are generally fatal. Tuatara are carnivores, and cannibalistic, and highly territorial. They take ten to twenty years to reach sexual maturity, and live in burrows they either dig themselves or commandeer from burrowing birds. Small birds such as Fairy Prions might also serve as lunch.

Tuatara were extinct on the mainland (thanks to habitat loss and introduced predators such as the Polynesian Rat) with the remaining populations confined to 32 offshore islands, until some were released into the heavily fenced Karori Wildlife Sanctuary in 2005. A tuatara nest was uncovered during maintence work in 2008, with a hatchling found the following autumn - quite possibly the first tuatara breeding on the North Island in over 200 years. Unfortunately Tuatara have temperature-dependent sex determination - lower egg incubation temperatures lead to females while higher temperatures lead to males. This bodes ill for the future, with accelerating climate change.

[sargassos]

For Dinovember, day 18, I have another double post, and they aren’t even dinosaurs 😅 Originally I wasn’t going to devote full pages to pterosaurs. Not on purpose, they just hadn’t come up when I did my thumbnails and layout. But then my pages didn’t match up in a printable way, and while I’m sure I probably missed a few dinosaur species, I decided on this instead. I mean, there will be marine reptiles at the end of the book, why not some flying reptiles too?

For the first one, this little Eilenodon better hope that sunning kepodactylus doesn’t notice it. Maybe the pterosaur won’t be a bother, but why take the chance? Get moving!

Second picture for today, there be fish in these waters, and close enough for these dermodactylus to easily snatch some up.

Only single page posts going forward, but I should have just enough to finish out the month!

EDIT, 1/11/22: This entire Dinovember series has been compiled and is now available for purchase on Gumroad! The pages can be printed, or thrown into a digital program! Check it out HERE!

[edgescience]

So, my hint for today's video was purposely misleading. Gold was the answer! Probably the most fascinating fossil story I've heard about revolves around the discovery of a fossil reptile made entirely of Gold! Check it!