Euryapsida

The division of living beings into systematics is a continuous subject of research. Different systematic classifications exist side by side and one after the other. The taxon treated here has become obsolete due to new research or is not part of the group systematics presented in the German-language Wikipedia.

The temporal window of the euryapsid skull is delimited by the parietals (p), postorbital (po) and squamosum (sq).

For comparison: the diapside skull has two temporal windows

The Euryapsids are extinct marine reptiles from the Mesozoic Era that had a diapsid skull with a closed lower skull window . This type of skull is called the "Euryapsider" skull. Most of the euryapsids were marine reptiles, so it seems reasonable to conclude that the construction of their skull was related to their way of life.

They include the ichthyosaurs , the placodons , the nothosaurs and the plesiosaurs . The Euryapsids are a paraphyletic taxon that is no longer valid today . This means that the Euryapsids do not include all descendants of the most recent common ancestral form. All Euryapsids died out during and at the end of the Cretaceous Period .

Web links

• University of Bristol , The Palaeobiology and Biodiversity Research Group Euryapsida