Biology:Millerettidae
Millerettidae is an extinct family of early stem-reptiles from the Middle Permian to the Late Permian period (Capitanian - Changhsingian stages) of South Africa and possibly Russia.[1] Although they were interpreted as a group of 'parareptiles',[2] recent anatomical studies[3][4] and phylogenetic analyses[5][6][7] have suggested that they are better interpreted as close relatives of the Neodiapsida as part of the larger clade Parapleurota. The millerettids were small insectivores and probably resembled modern lizards in appearance and lifestyle, even possessing a tympanum, or eardrum, on the side of their skull.[5]
The following cladogram shows the phylogenetic position of the Millerettidae within 'Parareptilia', from Ruta et al., 2011.[8]
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Subsequent research by Jenkins and colleagues in 2025 and 2026, based on synchrotron data and an expansive phylogenetic dataset, recovered the Millerettidae as the sister group to the Neodiapsida, closer to the reptile crown group. Buffa et al. (2025) also found support for a crownward placement of Millerettidae based largely on postcranial data not considered by previous studies.[6] Jenkins et al. (2026) reassessed the controversial Eunotosaurus, finding it to be a derived millerettid close to Milleretta These results are displayed in the cladogram below, with taxa traditionally regarded as 'parareptiles' highlighted:[5][9]
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former 'parareptiles'
References
- ↑ Gow, C. E. (1972). "The osteology and relationships of the Millerettidae (Reptilia: Cotylosauria)" (in en). Journal of Zoology 167 (2): 219–264. doi:10.1111/j.1469-7998.1972.tb01731.x. ISSN 1469-7998. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1469-7998.1972.tb01731.x.
- ↑ Laurin, Michel; Reisz, Robert R. (February 1995). "A reevaluation of early amniote phylogeny" (in en). Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 113 (2): 165–223. doi:10.1111/j.1096-3642.1995.tb00932.x. https://academic.oup.com/zoolinnean/article-lookup/doi/10.1111/j.1096-3642.1995.tb00932.x.
- ↑ Jenkins, Xavier A; Benson, Roger B J; Elliott, Maya; Jeppson, Gabriel; Dollman, Kathleen; Fernandez, Vincent; Browning, Claire; Ford, David P et al. (2025-03-03). "New information on the anatomically derived millerettid Milleretta rubidgei from the latest Permian based on µCT data" (in en). Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 203 (3). doi:10.1093/zoolinnean/zlaf004. ISSN 0024-4082.
- ↑ Jenkins, Xavier A.; Benson, Roger B. J.; Ford, David P.; Browning, Claire; Fernandez, Vincent; Griffiths, Elizabeth; Choiniere, Jonah; Peecook, Brandon R. (2025-01-08). "Cranial osteology and neuroanatomy of the late Permian reptile Milleropsis pricei and implications for early reptile evolution". Royal Society Open Science 12 (1). doi:10.1098/rsos.241298. PMID 39780968. PMC 11707879. https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsos.241298.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Jenkins, Xavier A; Benson, Roger BJ; Ford, David P; Browning, Claire; Fernandez, Vincent; Dollman, Kathleen; Gomes, Timothy; Griffiths, Elizabeth et al. (2025-08-28). "Evolutionary assembly of crown reptile anatomy clarified by late Paleozoic relatives of Neodiapsida" (in en). Peer Community Journal 5: e89. doi:10.24072/pcjournal.620. ISSN 2804-3871.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Buffa, Valentin; Jenkins, Xavier A.; Benoit, Julien (2025-12-31). "Galesphyrus capensis from the Permian of South Africa and the origin of Neodiapsida". Journal of Systematic Palaeontology 23 (1). doi:10.1080/14772019.2025.2563582. ISSN 1477-2019.
- ↑ Jenkins, Xavier A.; Buffa, Valentin; Marchant, Cy J.; Ford, David P.; Browning, Claire; Fernandez, Vincent; Dollman, Kathleen; Botha, Jennifer et al. (2026). "The origin of the tympanic fossa in reptiles revealed by a late Permian neodiapsid" (in en). Palaeontology 69 (1). doi:10.1111/pala.70041. ISSN 1475-4983. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/pala.70041.
- ↑ Ruta, Marcello; Cisneros, Juan C.; Liebrecht, Torsten; Tsuji, Linda A.; Müller, Johannes (2011). "Amniotes through major biological crises: faunal turnover among Parareptiles and the end-Permian mass extinction" (in en). Palaeontology 54 (5): 1117–1137. doi:10.1111/j.1475-4983.2011.01051.x. ISSN 1475-4983. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1475-4983.2011.01051.x.
- ↑ Jenkins, Xavier A.; Peecook, Brandon R.; Choiniere, Jonah N.; Buffa, Valentin; Benoit, Julien; Browning, Claire; Fernandez, Vincent; Dollman, Kathleen et al. (2026-05-28). "The phylogenetic origin of turtles" (in en). Current Biology. doi:10.1016/j.cub.2026.04.070.
External links
Template:Sauropsida Wikidata ☰ Q2286106 entry
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