Kyrgyzsaurus

In Depth        Named after Kyrgyzstan where the holotype specimen was found,‭ ‬Kyrgyzsaurus has been identified as a drepanosaurid reptile.‭ ‬As such Kyrgyzsaurus would be expected to have been an arboreal reptile climbing through shrubs and the tree canopy with the aid of enlarged claws on the ends of its fingers and toes as well as … Read more

Vallesaurus

In Depth        Vallesaurus is a genus of small drepanosaur that lived in Italy during the late Triassic.‭ ‬drepanosaurs were arboreal lizards with hands and claws adapted for holding onto branches,‭ ‬as well as tails which hooked downwards for further grip.‭ ‬In essence that lived in much the same way as modern day‭ ‬chamaeleons,‭ ‬though it … Read more

Drepanosaurus

In Depth        Drepanosaurus is the type genus of the Drepanosauridae,‭ ‬a‭ ‬special group of diapsid reptiles that are noted for having prehensile tails.‭ ‬What this means is that the tail could be wrapped around objects for additional grip.‭ ‬In addition to this there was a hook on the end of the tail that provided even … Read more

Augustaburiania

In Depth        A relative of genera such as Tanystropheus and Dinocephalosaurus,‭ ‬Augustaburiania may well represent one of the oldest known tanystropheid reptiles.‭ ‬Beyond this though it is hard to be certain about more exact details of the living animal due to the current lack of more complete remains. Further Reading -‭ ‬New tanystropheids‭ (‬Reptilia:‭ ‬Archosauromorpha‭) … Read more

Megalancosaurus

In Depth        Megalancosaurus is one of the better known of the‭ ‬drepanosaurs,‭ ‬a special group of reptiles that possessed tails that could hook around branches.‭ ‬With an additional hook on the end of their tails,‭ ‬Megalancosaurus are believed to have walked along the‭ ‬branches of Triassic era tree canopies,‭ ‬hunting for small invertebrates to eat. … Read more

Aenigmastropheus

In Depth        First collected in‭ ‬1933,‭ ‬and tentatively described in‭ ‬1956,‭ ‬the fossils of Aenigmastropheus were not granted their own genus until‭ ‬2014.‭ ‬Aenigmastropheus is a genus of archosauromorph saurian that lived in Tanzania during the Late Permain,‭ ‬something that makes Aenigmastropheus the first and at the time of writing only known late‭ ‬Permian protosaur … Read more

Tanytrachelos

In Depth        Tanytrachelos is a genus of tanystropheiid reptile‭ (‬relative of Tanystropheus‭) ‬that lived during‭ ‬the‭ ‬Late Triassic.‭ ‬There is speculation that Tanytrachelos may be synonymous with the genus Gwyneddosaurus,‭ ‬and usually this would mean Tanytrachelos would be renamed as Gwyneddosaurus since this genus was named before Tanytrachelos.‭ ‬However since Gwyneddosaurus is based upon very … Read more