Palaeagama
Extinct genus of reptiles / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Palaeagama is an extinct genus of neodiapsid reptile from the Late Permian or Early Triassic of South Africa.[1] It is based on an articulated skeleton which was probably found in the Early Triassic Lystrosaurus Assemblage Zone, or potentially the Late Permian Daptocephalus Assemblage Zone.[2] Despite the completeness of the specimen, Palaeagama is considered as a "wildcard" taxon of uncertain affinities due to poor preservation.[3] It was originally considered an "eosuchian" (ancestral to modern reptiles),[4] and later reinterpreted as a lizard ancestor closely related to Paliguana and Saurosternon.[2] Modern studies generally consider it an indeterminate neodiapsid,[1][3] though a few phylogenetic analyses tentatively support a position at the base of Lepidosauromorpha.[5][6]
Palaeagama | |
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Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Reptilia |
Clade: | Neodiapsida |
Genus: | †Palaeagama Broom, 1926 |
Type species | |
†Palaeagama vielhaueri Broom, 1926 |