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The origin of the reptiles lies about 320–310 million years ago, in the swamps of the late Carboniferous period, when the first reptiles evolved from advanced labyrinthodonts. [2] The oldest known animal that may have been an amniote , a reptile rather than an amphibian , is Casineria [ 3 ] [ 4 ] (though it has also been argued to be a ...
These ancient herbivorous animals clearly demonstrate that the ability to consume plant material evolved very early in the history of lepidosaurs. The evolution of herbivory in squamates (the group that includes lizards and snakes) is less well known, though herbivorous species are found in the fossil record.
The group Squamata [17] includes snakes, lizards, and amphisbaenians. Squamata can be characterized by the reduction or loss of limbs. Snakes and legless lizards have evolved the complete loss of their limbs. The upper jaw of Squamates is movable on the cranium, a configuration called kinesis. [28]
The evolution of tetrapods began about 400 million years ago in the Devonian Period with the earliest tetrapods evolved from lobe-finned fishes. [1] Tetrapods (under the apomorphy-based definition used on this page) are categorized as animals in the biological superclass Tetrapoda, which includes all living and extinct amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals.
The oldest undisputed lizards date to the Middle Jurassic, from remains found In Europe, Asia and North Africa. [53] Lizard morphological and ecological diversity substantially increased over the course of the Cretaceous. [54] In the Palaeogene, lizard body sizes in North America peaked during the middle of the period. [55]
Sauropsida (Greek for "lizard faces") is a clade of amniotes, broadly equivalent to the class Reptilia, though typically used in a broader sense to also include extinct stem-group relatives of modern reptiles and birds (which, as theropod dinosaurs, are nested within reptiles as more closely related to crocodilians than to lizards or turtles). [2]
Synapsida [a] is a diverse group of tetrapod vertebrates that includes all mammals and their extinct relatives. It is one of the two major clades of the group Amniota, the other being the more diverse group Sauropsida (which includes all extant reptiles and birds).
Varanoidea is a superfamily of lizards, including the well-known family Varanidae (the monitors and goannas). Also included in the Varanoidea are the Lanthanotidae (earless monitor lizards), and the extinct Palaeovaranidae. Throughout their long evolutionary history, varanoids have exhibited great diversity, both in habitat and form.