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The prolacertid LepidosaurianCosesaurus aviceps Ellenberger & Villalta, a claimed «Protoavian from the Middle Triassic of Spain

1984; Elsevier BV; Volume: 17; Issue: 6 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1016/s0016-6995(84)80119-9

1777-5728

J. L. Sanz, Nieves López-Martı́nez,

Ichthyology and Marine Biology

Abstract Cosesaurus aviceps , a small, probable diapsid reptile from the Ladinian (Middle Triassic) of Montral-Alcover (prov. Tarragona, Spain), has been reported as an ancestor of the Neornites. The only known specimen of this taxon is likely an inmature individual. The allometric growth models have been introduced in the character analysis, to infer the features of the adult Cosesaurus . For the present analysis, only the features that can be ascertained without doubt have been retained. The characters have been classified as primitive and derived. Cosesaurus shares all the ten derived characters we have found with Prolacertiformes, especially with Macrocnemus . The sister-group Macrocnemus + Cosesaurus is characterized by the relatively elongated neck in respect both to the skull and trunk length, 7–8 cervical vertebrae with the centra relatively elongated, and a relatively narrow distal femur region.