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Rhineura (worm lizard)

Osteichthyes - Rhineuridae

Synonyms
Synonymy list
YearName and author
1861Rhineura Cope
1875Rhineura Cope p. 44
1902Rhineura Hay p. 476
1930Rhineura Hay p. 250
1938Rhineura Gilmore p. 11
1951Gilmoreia Taylor
1951Pseudorhineura Vanzolini
1953Rhineura Galbreath p. 39
1959Rhineura Hecht p. 137
1976Rhineura Yatkola p. 646
1983Pseudorhineura Estes
1983Rhineura Estes
1988Pseudorhineura Carroll
1988Rhineura Carroll
1996Rhineura Frank and Ramus
1998Rhineura Maddox and Wall p. 6
2003Rhineura Kearney
2006Rhineura Smith p. 5
2015Rhineura Jiménez-Hidalgo et al.
2015Rhineura Longrich et al.

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RankNameAuthor
kingdomAnimalia()
Bilateria
EubilateriaAx 1987
Deuterostomia
phylumChordataHaeckel 1874
subphylumVertebrata
superclassGnathostomata
classOsteichthyes
subclassSarcopterygii()
subclassDipnotetrapodomorpha(Nelson 2006)
subclassTetrapodomorpha()
Tetrapoda
RankNameAuthor
Reptiliomorpha
Anthracosauria
subclassAmphibiosauriaKuhn 1967
Cotylosauria()
Amniota
Sauropsida
classReptilia
Squamata()
infraorderAmphisbaeniaGray 1844
Rhineuroidea
familyRhineuridaeVanzolini 1951
genusRhineuraCope 1861

If no rank is listed, the taxon is considered an unranked clade in modern classifications. Ranks may be repeated or presented in the wrong order because authors working on different parts of the classification may disagree about how to rank taxa.

G. Rhineura Cope 1861 [worm lizard]
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Rhineura floridana Baird 1858 [North American worm lizard]
Rhineura hatcherii Baur 1893
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Invalid names: Rhineura amblyceps Taylor 1951 [synonym], Rhineura attenuatus Taylor 1951 [synonym], Rhineura coloradoensis Cope 1873 [synonym], Rhineura hibbardi Taylor 1951 [synonym], Rhineura minutus Gilmore 1938 [synonym], Rhineura sternbergii Walker 1932 [synonym], Rhineura wilsoni Taylor 1951 [synonym]
Rhineura marslandensis Yatkola 1976
Rhineura sepultura Holman 1979
Invalid names: Gilmoreia Taylor 1951 [synonym], Pseudorhineura Vanzolini 1951 [synonym]
Diagnosis
ReferenceDiagnosis
P. E. Vanzolini 1951 (Pseudorhineura)"Similar to the fossil forms of Rhineura, but with much more elongate nasals and with the fenestra ovals displaced far backwards" (p. 116)
Measurements
No measurements are available
Composition: phosphaticsubp
Environment: terrestrialinfrao
Locomotion: actively mobilec
Life habit: fossorialinfrao
Diet: insectivoreinfrao
Created: 2005-09-16 14:12:18
Modified: 2005-09-16 16:12:18
Source: infrao = infraorder, c = class, subp = subphylum
References: Hendy et al. 2009, Kiessling 2004, Carroll 1988, Pianka and Vitt 2003

Age range

Maximum range based only on fossils: base of the Bridgerian to the top of the Rancholabrean or 51.10000 to 0.01400 Ma
Minimum age of oldest fossil (stem group age): 45.9 Ma

Collections (20 total)


Time interval Ma Country or state Original ID and collection number
Bridgerian51.1 - 45.9USA (Wyoming) Rhineura sp. (16244 16432)
Bartonian - Rupelian41.03 - 27.3Mexico (Oaxaca) Rhineura sp. (166797)
Chadronian37.0 - 33.9USA (Colorado) Rhineura coloradoensis (16977)
Chadronian37.0 - 33.9USA (North Dakota) Rhineura sp. (16991)
Orellan33.9 - 31.8USA (Wyoming) Rhineura minutus, Rhineura sternbergii, Gilmoreia attenuatus (125185)
Orellan33.9 - 31.8USA (Colorado) Rhineura amblyceps, Rhineura wilsoni (17081) Rhineura hatcheri (180723) Rhineura hibbardi, Rhineura amblyceps, Rhineura wilsoni (180696)
Orellan33.9 - 31.8USA (Nebraska) Rhineura hatcherii (17059 179967)
Orellan33.9 - 31.8USA (South Dakota) Rhineura hatcherii (17067 179966) Rhineura sp. (17094)
Early/Lower Hemingfordian18.5 - 16.3USA (Nebraska) Rhineura marslandensis (17881 17963)
Hemingfordian18.5 - 16.3USA (South Dakota) Rhineura sepultura (17878)
Barstovian16.3 - 12.5USA (Nebraska) Rhineura sp. (18284)
Rancholabrean0.21 - 0.014USA (Florida) Rhineura floridana (20491)
Late/Upper Pleistocene (interglacial)0.129 - 0.0117USA (Florida) Rhineura floridana (20650)