The Origin, Early History and Diversification of Lepidosauromorph Reptiles

The reptilian group Lepidosauria diversified through the Mesozoic, survived the end-Cretaceous extinction relatively unscathed, and has more than 7,000 living species. Although originally constituted as a "waste-bin" for non-archosaurian diapsids, modern definitions limit Lepidosauria to its two constituent groups, Rhynchocephalia and Squamata, and their most recent common ancestor. To date, the earliest known lepidosaurs are from the Late Triassic (Carnian) of Europe and India, but their derived morphology provides indirect evidence of a longer, unrecorded, history. Rhynchocephalians and squamates probably diverged in the Early-Middle Triassic, and new material from the Early Triassic of Poland sheds some light on their common ancestor. The roots of Lepidosauria may extend into the Palaeozoic, but there are critical gaps in the fossil record.