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From top to bottom (A) a skull of an Anapsid, (B) a Synapsid (stem-mammal) skull, and (C) a Diapsid skull. [a] Temporal fenestrae are openings in the temporal region of the skull of some amniotes, behind the orbit (eye socket). These openings have historically been used to track the evolution and affinities of reptiles.
The parietal eye is found in the tuatara, most lizards, frogs, salamanders, certain bony fish, sharks, and lampreys. [7] [8] [9] It is absent in mammals but was present in their closest extinct relatives, the therapsids, suggesting that it was lost during the course of the mammalian evolution due to it being useless in endothermic animals. [10]
All genetic studies have supported the hypothesis that turtles are diapsid reptiles; some have placed turtles within archosauromorpha, [11] [12] or, more commonly, as a sister group to extant archosaurs. [13] [14] [15] [16]
Paleontologists have discovered a previously unknown ancient species: Kermitops — an amphibian that predates the dinosaurs and reveals the complexity of frog evolution. Researchers found a tiny ...
An anapsid is an amniote whose skull lacks one or more skull openings (fenestra, or fossae) near the temples. [1] Traditionally, the Anapsida are considered the most primitive subclass of amniotes, the ancestral stock from which Synapsida and Diapsida evolved, making anapsids paraphyletic. It is, however, doubtful that all anapsids lack ...
This schematic shows the skull viewed from the left side. The middle opening is the orbit of the eye; the opening to the right of it is the temporal fenestra. Synapsids evolved a temporal fenestra behind each eye orbit on the lateral surface of the skull. It may have provided new attachment sites for jaw muscles.
At least 10 of these vertebrae formed a short tail, which the animal may have retained as an adult. [1] It probably swam by kicking its hind legs, although it could not jump, as most modern frogs can. Its skull resembled that of modern frogs, consisting of a latticework of thin bones separated by large openings. [2]
Laojunshan slow frogs live in ponds and marshes at an elevation of about 13,000 feet, researchers said. So far, Laojunshan slow frogs have been found only on Mount Laojun in Yunnan province, about ...