Millerettidae is an extinct family of early reptiles from the Middle Permian to the Late Permian period (Capitanian - Changhsingian stages) of South Africa and possibly Russia.[1] Although they were interpreted as a group of 'parareptiles',[2] recent anatomical studies[3][4] and phylogenetic analyses[5] have suggested that they are better interpreted as close relatives of the Neodiapsida as part of the larger clade Parapleurota. The millerettids were small insectivores and probably resembled modern lizards in appearance and lifestyle, even possessing a tympanum, or eardrum, on the side of their skull.[5]
The following cladogram shows the phylogenetic position of the Millerettidae within 'Parareptilia', from Ruta et al., 2011.[6]
Subsequent research by Jenkins and colleagues (2025) based on synchrotron data and an expansive phylogenetic dataset recovered the Millerettidae as the sister group to the Neodiapsida, closer to the reptile crown group. These results are displayed in the cladogram below, with taxa traditionally regarded as 'parareptiles' highlighted:[5]
former 'parareptiles'
References
- ^ Gow, C. E. (1972). "The osteology and relationships of the Millerettidae (Reptilia: Cotylosauria)". Journal of Zoology. 167 (2): 219–264. doi:10.1111/j.1469-7998.1972.tb01731.x. ISSN 1469-7998.
- ^ Laurin, Michel; Reisz, Robert R. (February 1995). "A reevaluation of early amniote phylogeny". Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 113 (2): 165–223. doi:10.1111/j.1096-3642.1995.tb00932.x.
- ^ Jenkins, Xavier A; Benson, Roger B J; Elliott, Maya; Jeppson, Gabriel; Dollman, Kathleen; Fernandez, Vincent; Browning, Claire; Ford, David P; Choiniere, Jonah; Peecook, Brandon R (2025-03-03). "New information on the anatomically derived millerettid Milleretta rubidgei from the latest Permian based on µCT data". Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 203 (3). doi:10.1093/zoolinnean/zlaf004. ISSN 0024-4082.
- ^ Jenkins, Xavier A.; Benson, Roger B. J.; Ford, David P.; Browning, Claire; Fernandez, Vincent; Griffiths, Elizabeth; Choiniere, Jonah; Peecook, Brandon R. (2025-01-08). "Cranial osteology and neuroanatomy of the late Permian reptile Milleropsis pricei and implications for early reptile evolution". Royal Society Open Science. 12 (1) 241298. doi:10.1098/rsos.241298. PMC 11707879. PMID 39780968.
- ^ a b c Jenkins, Xavier A; Benson, Roger BJ; Ford, David P; Browning, Claire; Fernandez, Vincent; Dollman, Kathleen; Gomes, Timothy; Griffiths, Elizabeth; Choiniere, Jonah N; Peecook, Brandon R (2025-08-28). "Evolutionary assembly of crown reptile anatomy clarified by late Paleozoic relatives of Neodiapsida". Peer Community Journal. 5. e89. doi:10.24072/pcjournal.620. ISSN 2804-3871.
- ^ Ruta, Marcello; Cisneros, Juan C.; Liebrecht, Torsten; Tsuji, Linda A.; Müller, Johannes (2011). "Amniotes through major biological crises: faunal turnover among Parareptiles and the end-Permian mass extinction". Palaeontology. 54 (5): 1117–1137. doi:10.1111/j.1475-4983.2011.01051.x. ISSN 1475-4983.
External links
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| | | †Acleistorhinidae |
- Acleistorhinus
- Carbonodraco
- Colobomycter
- Delorhynchus
- Feeserpeton
- Karutia
- Klastomycter
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| †Colognathidae |
- Colognathus
- Quasicolognathus
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| †Bolosauridae |
- Belebey
- Bolosaurus
- Eudibamus
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| †Millerettidae? |
- Broomia
- Heleophilus
- Lanthanolania?
- Milleretta
- Millerosaurus
- Milleropsis
- Nanomilleretta
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| †Procolophonia | |
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| Diapsida | |
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See also |
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| Possible sauropsids | |
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| Other taxa | |
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Taxon identifiers |
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| Millerettidae | |
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