aplomado 318 Posted August 25, 2017 Are Mosasaurs considered lizards? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
PFOOLEY 2,840 Posted August 25, 2017 I would say no...they share the same order but are from different clades/suborders. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
WhodamanHD 3,072 Posted August 25, 2017 They are usually considered squamates but placement is highly debated and new emerging evidence shows a more distant relationship, while some point to other (mainly morphological) evidence to show closer relationships (more towards snakes really) . In other words, not lizards, possibly closely related but check in a few years and this may change. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
PFOOLEY 2,840 Posted August 25, 2017 A few more tidbits on this very interesting subject ... ...from Integrated Analyses Resolve Conflicts over Squamate Reptile Phylogeny and Reveal Unexpected Placements for Fossil Taxa... ...and a living reptile cladogram... ...from Natural History Magazine. Gotta love Herpetology! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Macrophyseter 603 Posted August 26, 2017 I was about to say technically no, but actually they could be lizards. Most people just recognize mosasaurs up to as a squamate, which also includes snakes, so that isnt enough to classify it as a lizard. But mosas are actually also in the clade Platynota which IS composed of only lizards if im correct, so i guess mosasaurs can be defined as true lizards. But as far as I know, Platynota used to be used to also define snakes but the snakes were moved to their own clades. I might be wrong, so dont take my word too seriously. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
doushantuo 4,265 Posted August 26, 2017 caldj.1096-3642_1999.tb00587.x.pdf Might also be in Fruitbat's Library ,haven't checked Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
doushantuo 4,265 Posted August 26, 2017 Varadentmosa Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
doushantuo 4,265 Posted August 26, 2017 rieppel2000.pdf Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
doushantuo 4,265 Posted August 26, 2017 ALBLA (NB:large file,54.6 Mb) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
doushantuo 4,265 Posted August 26, 2017 cladistGauth Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
doushantuo 4,265 Posted August 26, 2017 thesjimhui About 8,5 Mb Although what follows suggests otherwise,the brunt of the thesis consists of cladograms and character matrices Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
LordTrilobite 3,840 Posted September 13, 2017 On 25/08/2017 at 7:49 PM, PFOOLEY said: A few more tidbits on this very interesting subject ... Since this clearly shows that either Lizards are monophyletic and snakes are mosasaurs are also subsets of lizards. Or Lizards are paraphyletic and it doesn't have a clear definition anyway and you could just as easily include mosasaurs anyway. So yes. I would say that Mosasaurs are definitely just overgrown marine lizards. I think it's just easier to just say that Squamata = Lizards. So I would consider Mosasaurs a subset of lizards. Otherwise it just devolves into arbitrary nonsense of saying this belongs in this group and that one doesn't. If one considers legless lizards to be actual lizards, I don't think it makes sense to say that Mosasaurs aren't actually lizards. Aquatic snakes are also still called snakes even though they have flattened tails that are basically tail fins. It's also easier to explain to people who think mosasaurs are dinosaurs. Just saying they are big water lizards is nice and clear to understand for people who aren't very well versed in taxonomy. So yea, large lizards with paddles and fins imo. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Macrophyseter 603 Posted September 14, 2017 Seeing this, I've just thought, you know those people who think that lizard aliens took over the world? Well I guess they were partially right, actual lizards did once take over the aquatic world. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ynot 7,241 Posted September 14, 2017 4 minutes ago, Macrophyseter said: mosasaurs are the only dominant mesozoic marine reptile to not be closely related to dinosaurs What about Ichthyosaurs and plesiosaurs. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Macrophyseter 603 Posted September 14, 2017 Wait, scratch that. I completely forgot that ichthyosaurs arnt archosauromorphs . So I guess mosasaurs and ichthyosaurs, unless you dont count archosauromorpha being close enough. Sorry for any possible misleading Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
