Permo-triassic "lizards" from the Karoo System. Part II: A gliding reptile from the upper Permian of Madagascar
Date
1977
Authors
Carroll, Robert L.
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Bernard Price Institute for Palaeontological Research
Abstract
Daedalosaurus madagascariensis, gen. et sp. nov. from the Upper Permian of Madagascar is a
small reptile in which the trunk ribs are greatly elongated to support a gliding "membrane"
similar to those in the Upper Triassic lizards Kuehneosaurus and lcarosaurus, and the living agamid
Draco. The membrane is supported by 21 pairs of ribs compared with five to seven in Draco, ten
in lcarosaurus and 11 in Kuehneosaurus. The total body mass is estimated as 250 grams, the area of
the membrane nearly 200 cm2, with a wing loading of approximately 1,25 g/cm2. A second
species in the fauna, belonging to the same family, Coelurosauravus elivensis Piveteau, has a very
similar appendicular skeleton, but ribs of normal proportions. The maxillary dentition of Coelurosauravus
is acrodont, that of Daedalosaurus pleurodont. In neither genus is the temporal region
of the skull adequately known, although the configuration of the jugal in Daedalosaurus suggests
that the lower temporal bar may be reduced. The primitive nature of the appendicular skeleton,
with little evidence or the specializations seen in contemporary lizards, suggests that these genera
should not be classified among the Squamata, but among the Eosuchia.
Description
Main article
Keywords
Permian; Madagascar; gliding; reptile
Citation
None