Evolution Of Reptiles

Evolution of Reptiles: It's impossible to look at reptiles for long without wondering about the relationships between the reptile groups. Once we start down this path it is inevitable that we will compare their bodies. The part that tells us the clearest story is their skulls.

Ancient Amphibian Ancestors

All reptiles and higher vertebrates evolved from early land going amphibians called Labyrinthodonts. There's a picture of the fossilized skeleton of one of these creatures to the right. An example of such a creature is Eryops. This is known because early reptiles had many similarities with Labyrinthodont amphibians, more so than with any other group of animals. There were similarities in the skulls, teeth, vertebrae, limbs and more. Early reptiles were little more than watertight Labyrinthodont amphibians. A picture of the classic Labyrinthodont amphibian skull is shown below from three angles:

The reptiles that arose from these early creatures have been grouped according to differences in the skull. The Labyrinthodonts had no openings in the outer skull save for the nostrils and eyes.

How Were The Reptiles Different?

We know what a reptile looks like, but how exactly do we define a reptile when all we are looking at is a small pile of 300 million year old fossil bones? There are two main elements. These consist of differences in the hands and feet and the presence of certain reptile characteristics in the skull. When both these differences are present, we can be fairly certain that the fossil in question is that of a reptile and not just an advanced amphibian.

Evolution Of Four Groups Of Reptiles

There were four groups of reptiles that evolved berkembang from this primitive condition, and they are grouped according to the number and location of extra holes (called apsids) in the back part of the skulltengkorak. We can see this in picture form below:

These four variations on the basic skull theme again show us the mechanics of evolution. There was one initial type and from that four variations arose. In the early days of the separation of these groups the members were probably fairly similar but they soon developed into radically different groups including crocodiles, dinosaurs, sea reptiles and mammals. Again, a picture is the best way to see this. Note that the following has no time scale. The animals in grey are extinct, the colored ones are still going. Note that all euryapsid reptiles are now extinct.

This is a simplified view though. A more comprehensive view of the development of reptiles looks like this:

amniotes (reptilomorpha) from

amphibian ancestor

synapsids
(mammal-like reptiles)

sauropsids

eureptilia

anapsids

(parapeptilia)

captorhinidae

romeriida

turtles (?)

protorothyrididae

diapsids

euryapsids (?)

dinosaurs reptiles birds

Click the names of any of these groups to learn more. Question marks (?) indicate uncertain relationships.

Evolution Of The Four Main Groups

Now we'll look at the four main groups of early reptiles one at a time. Click the skull type of your choice to read more about those reptiles:

The Anapsid Group

The Anapsid reptiles were among the first serious contenders for vertebrate dominance of the land. There were many groups of these animals, as seen in the Anapsid family tree. Among these animals were some of the following groups: Millerettidae: Initially known from one small lizard-like animal, recent work has shown these creatures to be a diverse group showing many signs of evolutionaty adaptation to their environments. Mesosaurus: Mesosaurus and its cousins were the first reptiles to return to the water. This is further evidence of the vigor of the anapsid group. Bolosaurus: Bolosaurus and its cousins were similar to mammal-like reptiles in the structure of their teeth. At least one member of this group also walked on two legs. Lanthosuchus: Lanthosuchus was yet another highly specialized parareptile from the Permian. It probably lived in river beds waiting to ambush passing prey. Hallucicrania: The Hallucicrania were the creatures that preceded the Pareiasaurs and possibly the turtles. These heavy set animals had strange and ornate skulls that stand out in the fossil record. Scutosaurus: Scutosaurus was one of the megafauna of the Permian, an herbivorous pareiasaur with extensive defenses. Huge and heavy set, it was also well armored with tough bony skin. Bradysaurus: Bradysaurus looks the likely ancestor of the Permian pareiasaur giants as it is clearly in the group and shows lots of primitive features that later species improved upon.

The Synapsid Group

The mammal-like reptiles, called Synapsids, appeared at the very beginning of reptile history. Some members of this group very quickly developed some features that are still present in many of today's mammals.

The Euryapsid Group

Euryapsid reptiles were once thought to be a separate branch of creatures on a par with the other three main groups. They are now though to be an extinct branch of Diapsid reptiles. This group included the Ichthyosaurs and Plesiosaurs, as well as a bizarre collection of creatures called Placodonts.

The Diapsid Group

These are the big winners of the reptile world. With the possible exception of turtles, all living reptiles are members of the Diapsid group. This group also produced those wonders of the past, the dinosaurs.

Crocodiles: Impressive Killing Machines

Crocodiles, also called crocs, are the fiercest, most savage reptiles alive today. They may look slow but they are capable of incredible bursts of speed and their jaws deliver one of the most powerful bites of any animal. They can grow to true monster proportions with many being recorded over six metres in length (19.5 feet). A beast this size can weigh over a ton. They are ambush predators so it's when you can't see them that they are a threat. Yet despite their ferocity, crocs are some of the only reptiles to care not only for their eggs but also for their young after they hatch.

Types Of Crocs
There are dozens of species of crocs and they are found in tropical regions all over the world. Some are endangered whereas others, like the saltwater croc, are doing very well.

Crocs As Pets?
Why would someone want a croc as a pet? I guess it's the same reason that some people keep animals like tigers and pumas as pets. They are impressive, powerful creatures and perhaps the additional danger of possible death at any instant adds to the thrill of maintaining the animal. Personally I think you'd have to be insane to keep a saltwater croc as a pet. A newborn hatchling has a bite powerful enough to sever a finger. They are not able to be trained or domesticated in any way, and a crocodile you have kept for years will be as likely to attack you a wild one. Even if saltwater crocs were not a protected species under Australian law, keeping one in a domestic environment would only be endangering yourself and people around you. Even large dogs can be very dangerous for small children, but I shudder to think what a croc would do if it was hungry and came across a child. Some smaller species are legal to trade as pets, but it must be remembered that even smaller specimens will be dangerous and untrainable. They may become used to being handled, but they will never be tame.

Seeing Crocs In The Wild

There are some opportunities to see crocs in the wild without danger. The best way to view these creatures safely is with a guided tour. Crocs are not animals you want to be close to when it's on their terms.

Horror Croc Stories

If you live in the Northern Territory, Australia for any length of time you hear a great many croc stories, and most of them are true. I lived there for ten years and not only heard the stories but also had several encounters of my own, which I was lucky to survive. Most of these croc attacks occurred on one beach.

Crocodile Evolution
The most notable feature of crocs is the snout. This is the defining feature of the group and has changed very little throughout their evolution. However crocs are not the only creatures to have a mouth like that. There are several crocodile fish alive today that share this impressive mouth.

Crocs are possibly the longest surviving lineage of animals on land. From their early beginnings some 230 million years ago, over 28 groups of croc like creatures have lived and died. Each group contained many species. As a comparison, all the species alive today fit into one group. That's all the crocs, alligators, caimans and gharials in the world, all in the one group. Crocs certainly have a prolific and successful history.
Rio de Janeiro: Tim ilmuwan Brasil berhasil menemukan sebuah fosil yang diduga sebagai buaya prasejarah, belum lama ini. Fosil yang disebut uberabasuchus terrificus atau buaya buas dari Uberaba ini mempunyai panjang tubuh sekitar tiga meter dan berat mencapai 300 kilogram. Sejauh ini, para ilmuwan masih terus berupaya menyusun potongan fosil buaya ini hingga menyerupai bentuk aslinya. Menurut anggota tim, bentuk uberabasuchus memang lebih kecil dari buaya yang ada saat ini. Tapi, buaya ini mempunyai naluri membunuh yang kuat. Berbeda dengan buaya sekarang yang hidup di air atau di dekat air, buaya ini diyakini mempunyai habitat di darat. Sebab bentuk kakinya lebih panjang. Uberabasuchus juga diyakini tak mempunyai hubungan langsung dengan buaya di zaman sekarang dan hidup berpindah-pindah pada zaman dinosaurus masih hidup jutaan tahun lampau. Penemuan fosil ini juga mendukung teori mengenai adanya daratan bernama Gondwana. Gondwana dikenal sebagai daratan luas yang menghubungkan Australia, India, Afrika, Amerika Selatan, dan Antartika, sekitar 200 juta tahun silam. Gondwana diyakini lepas dari Afrika sekitar 100 juta tahun lampau. Tapi, Gondwana tetap menghubungkan Amerika Latin, Antartika, India, dan kemungkinan Australia, 70 juta tahun lampau. Ini mengindikasikan, Benua Antartika lebih hangat saat itu sehingga memungkinkan adanya perpindahan berbagai macam spesies di bumi.(ORS/Yoh) Washington D.C.: Penemuan ilmiah yang spektakuler dihasilkan Lembaga Penelitian Nasional Amerika Serikat, baru-baru ini. Lembaga itu menyatakan telah menemukan fosil buaya raksasa atau Supercroc dari zaman prahistoris di antara lintasan Nigeria dan kawasan Gurun Sahara, Afrika. Fosil buaya raksasa yang berupa tengkorak dan rahang mirip jenis aligator itu mempunyai panjang badan 18 meter. Penemuan ini disampaikan Ketua Tim Arkeolog Paul Soreno, di Kantor Pusat Penelitian Nasional, di Washington D.C., AS. Menurut Soreno, buaya raksasa yang ditemukan dalam bentuk fosil itu diperkirakan sebagai spesies reptil terbesar dan pernah hidup di bumi. Sebenarnya, fosil tersebut telah ditemukan sejak setahun silam. Namun, saat itu kondisi fosil masih tercerai berai di lokasi yang berbeda. Para pakar terus meneliti hingga menemukan sekitar 50 persen kerangka buaya raksasa tersebut. Profesor dari Universitas Chicago itu mengatakan, buaya tadi diperkirakan berusia 60 tahun dan semasa hidupnya memiliki berat sekitar 10 ton dengan panjang badan mencapai 18 meter. Ihwal adanya fosil buaya raksasa dari jenis hewan langka yang sudah punah ini, pertama kali diungkapkan pakar paleontologis Albert Felix de La Parent. Para pakar menamai jenis spesies ini

dengan sebutan Sarcosuchus. Mereka berkeyakinan pada 110 tahun silam, empat spesies aligator raksasa tersebut pernah hidup dan berkembang biak di sebuah sungai besar yang kini dikenal sebagai Gurun Sahara.(DEN/Jsi)