The classical phylogeny of living reptiles pairs crocodilians with birds, tuataras with squamates, and places turtles at the base of the tree. New evidence from two nuclear genes, and analyses of mitochondrial DNA and 22 additional nuclear genes, join crocodilians with turtles and place squamates at the base of the tree. Morphological and paleontological evidence for this molecular phylogeny is...

The conservation status of the members of the Honduran herpetofauna is discussed. Based on current and projected future human population growth, it is posited that the entire herpetofauna is endangered. The known herpetofauna of Honduras currently consists of 334 species, including 117 amphibians and 217 reptiles (including six marine reptiles, which are not discussed in this paper). The greate...

We report here on recent collections of amphibians and reptiles from El Salvador, in western Central America. More than 600 specimens of amphibians and reptiles were collected on field trips during 2001 and 2002, representing 51 species: one salamander, 11 anurans, 22 lizards, and 17 snakes. One lizard, Mesoscincus managuae (Sauria: Scincidae) is a new national record. Conservation needs and ac...

INTRODUCTION Endoscopy has proven to be a useful diagnostic tool in veterinary medicine. In the field of zoological medicine, the application of diagnostic endoscopy has shown promise in many taxa including reptiles. Clinical, research and teaching experience suggests that endoscopy offers unparalleled opportunities for visualization and biopsy in reptiles, and has been advocated as a standard ...

Contrary to the fast radiation of most metazoans after the end-Permian mass extinction, it is believed that early marine reptiles evolved slowly during the same time interval. However, emerging discoveries of Early Triassic marine reptiles are questioning this traditional view. Here we present an aberrant basal ichthyosauriform with a hitherto unknown body design that suggests a fast radiation ...

Reptiles are declining in many parts of the world, mainly due to habitat loss and environmental change. A major factor in this is availability of suitable food. For many animals, dietary requirements shift during developmental stages and a habitat will only be suitable for conserving a species if it supports all stages. Conventional methods for establishing diet often rely on visual recognition...

Viviparity in Mesozoic marine reptiles has traditionally been considered an aquatic adaptation. We report a new fossil specimen that strongly contradicts this traditional interpretation. The new specimen contains the oldest fossil embryos of Mesozoic marine reptile that are about 10 million years older than previous such records. The fossil belongs to Chaohusaurus (Reptilia, Ichthyopterygia), w...

Ascending tectal axons carrying visual information constitute a fiber pathway linking the mesencephalon with the dorsal thalamus and then with a number of telencephalic centers. The sauropsidian nucleus rotundus and its mammalian homologue(s) occupy a central position in this pathway. The aim of this study was analyzing the rotundic connections in reptiles and birds in relation with comparable ...

Abstract Background SINEs comprise a significant part of animal genomes and are used to study the evolution diverse taxa. Despite advances in SINE studies vertebrates higher eukaryotes general, their own is poorly understood. Results We have discovered described detail new Squam3 specific for scaled reptiles (Squamata). The subfamilies this demonstrate different distribution squamates, which to...