Romeriida
Romeriida is a clade of reptiles that consists of diapsids and the extinct protorothyridid genus Paleothyris, if not the entire family Protorothyrididae. It is phylogenetically defined by Laurin & Reisz (1995) as the last common ancestor of Paleothyris and diapsids, and all its descendants.[1] It is named after Alfred Romer, a prominent vertebrate paleontologist of the twentieth century.[2]
| Romeriidans | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Central bearded dragon (Pogona vitticeps) | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Clade: | Eureptilia |
| Clade: | Romeriida Gauthier et al., 1988 |
| Subgroups | |
| |
Protorothyridids were once placed in the family Romeriidae along with the captorhinid Romeria.[1] Because Romeria is now considered to be a captorhinid, and Captorhinidae is placed outside Romeriida, the genus is excluded from the clade. Protorothyridids were once the collective term for several romeriid genera of uncertain classification. However, more recent studies have proposed that Protorothyrididae is a paraphyletic taxon.[3] Therefore, it is possible that many protorothyridids do not lie within the clade Romeriida.
Several synapomorphies characterize the romeriids. These include the separation of the tabular bone from the opisthotic bone, ventrally keeled anterior pleurocentra, long and slender carpi and tarsi, and overlapping metapodials.[1]
Below is a cladogram showing the placement of Romeriida within Amniota, modified from Hill, 2005:[4]
| Amniota |
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Cladogram after Müller & Reisz, 2006:[3]
| Amniota |
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Polyphyletic Protorothyrididae
References
- Laurin, M.; Reisz, R. (1995). "A reevaluation of early amniote phylogeny". Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 113 (2): 165–223. doi:10.1111/j.1096-3642.1995.tb00932.x.
- Gauthier, J. A.; Kluge, A. G.; Rowe, T. (1988). "The early evolution of the Amniota". In M. J. Benton (ed.). The Phylogeny and Classification of the Tetrapods, Volume 1: Amphibians, Reptiles, Birds. Systematics Association Special Volume. 35A. Clarendon Press. pp. 103–155.
- Müller, J.; Reisz, R. R. (2006). "The phylogeny of early eureptiles: comparing parsimony and Bayesian approaches in the investigation of a basal fossil clade". Systematic Biology. 55 (3): 503–511. doi:10.1080/10635150600755396. PMID 16861212.
- Hill, R. V. (2005). "Integration of morphological data sets for phylogenetic analysis of Amniota: the importance of integumentary characters and increased taxonomic sampling". Systematic Biology. 54 (4): 530–547. doi:10.1080/10635150590950326. PMID 16085573.
External links
- Romeriida in the Paleobiology Database
