A Permian fossil of a specialised herbivore has been discovered in kii’s state, predating any previously known plant-eating reptile by 100 million years. ABC takes up the story.

The “exquisitely preserved” remains of a 300-million-year-old reptile have been found in the United States, rewriting “the known evolutionary timeline”, the New Mexico Museum of Natural history says.

The museum made the announcement this week, saying the unique structure of the skull, jaws and teeth of the reptile indicate it was an herbivore, and such specialised plant-eating was not previously known in reptiles older than about 200 million years.

The bones were part of an “exquisitely preserved but incomplete skeleton”, the museum said in a statement.

“The skeleton is that of a sail-backed eupelycosaur, a group of animals that were very successful during the Permian ,” the museum said.

“Eupelycosaurs include the ancestors of mammals, making this new skeleton more closely related to us than to dinosaurs.”

Paleontology curator Spencer Lucas and his team from the museum determined the bones were about 300 million years old, meaning the reptile lived during the early part of the Permian Period, or more than 50 million years before the origin of dinosaurs.

Full report

Bubblecar said:

A Permian fossil of a specialised herbivore has been discovered in kii’s state, predating any previously known plant-eating reptile by 100 million years. ABC takes up the story.

The “exquisitely preserved” remains of a 300-million-year-old reptile have been found in the United States, rewriting “the known evolutionary timeline”, the New Mexico Museum of Natural history says.

The museum made the announcement this week, saying the unique structure of the skull, jaws and teeth of the reptile indicate it was an herbivore, and such specialised plant-eating was not previously known in reptiles older than about 200 million years.

The bones were part of an “exquisitely preserved but incomplete skeleton”, the museum said in a statement.

“The skeleton is that of a sail-backed eupelycosaur, a group of animals that were very successful during the Permian ,” the museum said.

“Eupelycosaurs include the ancestors of mammals, making this new skeleton more closely related to us than to dinosaurs.”

Paleontology curator Spencer Lucas and his team from the museum determined the bones were about 300 million years old, meaning the reptile lived during the early part of the Permian Period, or more than 50 million years before the origin of dinosaurs.

Full report

> Eupelycosaurs include the ancestors of mammals

I was right, I was right. I thought this skeleton looked like a relative of dimetrodon. And it is. They’re both pelycosaurs. Pat’s self on back.

An antique image (from 1969) showing a couple of pelycosaurs on the mammal family tree.

mollwollfumble said:

An antique image (from 1969) showing a couple of pelycosaurs on the mammal family tree.

australia used to have a huge inland sea, places like richmond / hughenden is part fo the “dinosaur trail” where they have dug up the creatures that used to swim that sea.

if you ever get up there you should have a drive around

wookiemeister said:

mollwollfumble said:

An antique image (from 1969) showing a couple of pelycosaurs on the mammal family tree.

australia used to have a huge inland sea, places like richmond / hughenden is part fo the “dinosaur trail” where they have dug up the creatures that used to swim that sea.

if you ever get up there you should have a drive around

Had to look Hughenden up on the web. “Hughenden boasts a replica of the Muttaburrasaurus, a dinosaur, whose bones were discovered in 1963 near Muttaburra (220 km by road from Hughenden) and some teeth and other bones were also discovered around Hughenden.”

Which Richmond, ah, “Kronosaurus Korner, is an unforgettable prehistoric adventure, where you see some of the most awe inspiring marine creatures such as ‘Penny’ the Richmond plesiosaur – Australia’s best vertebrate fossil, ‘Krono’ Kronosaurus queenslandicus – a 10 metre, giant marine reptile and ‘Wanda’ – Australia’s largest fossilised fish. Richmond Kronosaurus Korner – Fossil on display. Although the museum has mostly marine creatures, there are two dinosaurs; ‘Mia’ Minmi paravertebra – with impressions of its fossilised skin, it is considered to be Australia’s best-preserved dinosaur skeleton and ‘Marlin’s Beastie’ sauropod – a gigantic plant-eating dinosaur.”

Interesting. It’s not a part of Australia on my “to do list”, but perhaps it should be.

By the way, with the introduction of the Sauropsida clade, this is no longer classed as a reptile at all. The old definition of “mammal—like-reptile” has been discarded. These are now officially mammals.

mollwollfumble said:

By the way, with the introduction of the Sauropsida clade, this is no longer classed as a reptile at all. The old definition of “mammal—like-reptile” has been discarded. These are now officially mammals.

Would you please supply references.

PermeateFree said:

mollwollfumble said:

By the way, with the introduction of the Sauropsida clade, this is no longer classed as a reptile at all. The old definition of “mammal—like-reptile” has been discarded. These are now officially mammals.

Would you please supply references.

mollwollfumble said:

PermeateFree said:

mollwollfumble said:

By the way, with the introduction of the Sauropsida clade, this is no longer classed as a reptile at all. The old definition of “mammal—like-reptile” has been discarded. These are now officially mammals.

Would you please supply references.

Did these mammal-like animals suckle their young?

PermeateFree said:

mollwollfumble said:

PermeateFree said:

Would you please supply references.

Did these mammal-like animals suckle their young?

No way of knowing.

mollwollfumble said:

PermeateFree said:

mollwollfumble said:

Did these mammal-like animals suckle their young?

No way of knowing.

mollwollfumble said:

PermeateFree said:

mollwollfumble said:

Did these mammal-like animals suckle their young?

No way of knowing.

Then why are they classified as mammals (according to you)?

An antique image (from 1969) showing a couple of pelycosaurs on the mammal family tree.

I wonder what’s the difference between Moschops and Dicynodon. “Moschops was a 2.7 metre long, massively built dinocephalian.” “Dinocephalia is a clade of large-bodied early therapsids that flourished for a brief time in the Middle Permian between 270 and 260 million years ago (Ma), but became extinct, leaving no descendants. Dinocephalians included both herbivorous, carnivorous, and omnivorous forms. Many species had thickened skulls with many knobs and bony projections. Dinocephalian fossils are known from Russia, China, Brazil, South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Tanzania.” Ah, I see, the dinocephalians went extinct before the large dicynodonts took centre stage.

By the way, mammal ancestors started out big and shrank during the Mesozoic. When we talk about mammals being “popcorn of the cretaceous”, that’s much later.

An antique image (from 1969) showing a couple of pelycosaurs on the mammal family tree.

I wonder what’s the difference between Moschops and Dicynodon. “Moschops was a 2.7 metre long, massively built dinocephalian.” “Dinocephalia is a clade of large-bodied early therapsids that flourished for a brief time in the Middle Permian between 270 and 260 million years ago (Ma), but became extinct, leaving no descendants. Dinocephalians included both herbivorous, carnivorous, and omnivorous forms. Many species had thickened skulls with many knobs and bony projections. Dinocephalian fossils are known from Russia, China, Brazil, South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Tanzania.” Ah, I see, the dinocephalians went extinct before the large dicynodonts took centre stage.

By the way, mammal ancestors started out big and shrank during the Mesozoic. When we talk about mammals being “popcorn of the cretaceous”, that’s much later.