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Macrocephalosauridae (disused)
Taxonomy
Macrocephalosauridae was named by Sulimski (1975). Its type is Macrocephalosaurus.
It was synonymized subjectively with Polyglyphanodontidae by Estes (1983); it was replaced with Gilmoreteiidae by Langer (1998).
It was assigned to Sauria by Alifanov (1993); to Macrocephalosauroidea by Alifanov (2000); and to Scincomorpha by Sulimski (1975) and Alifanov (2000).
It was synonymized subjectively with Polyglyphanodontidae by Estes (1983); it was replaced with Gilmoreteiidae by Langer (1998).
It was assigned to Sauria by Alifanov (1993); to Macrocephalosauroidea by Alifanov (2000); and to Scincomorpha by Sulimski (1975) and Alifanov (2000).
Subtaxa
Synonymy list
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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.
Fm. †Macrocephalosauridae Sulimski 1975
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Invalid names: Pyramicephalosaurini Alifanov 1993 [empty]
Diagnosis
| Reference | Diagnosis | |
|---|---|---|
| A. Sulimski 1975 | Dental formula pm4+m24-28/d26-30. Large, tetrapod, terrestrial lizards, herbi- or insectivorous. Skull 60-120 mm in length. Premaxilla and parietal unpaired. Lacrimal small, externally visible. Maxilla vertically or almost vertically arranged in relation to the naso-prefrontal and palatal regions..Postfrontal and postorbitalseparated. Palate toothless. Suborbital fenestrae reduced to small hollows. Pterygoids in contact with vomers. Epipterygoids rod-like, strong. Postorbital arch composed of postfrontal only. Squamosal short, wide, roughly triangular. Supratemporal fused to squamosal. Quadratum high, movable, with a wide external conch. Parietal foramen in parietal or on fronto-parietal suture. Postero-ventral process of the jugal strong, sharply pointed or developed as a short spine or eminence. Lower jaw massive or more slender, but always deep in the angular region. Splenial wide, triangular and long, almost completely covering Meckel's groove. Anterior inferior alveolar foramen present in middle-length of the splenial. Symphysis short. Dentition subpleurodont or pleurodont, heterodont, well or weakly developed caninelike anterior teeth of the maxilla. Cheek tooth morphology and method of tooth replacement of iguanid type. Vertebral number: 8 cervicals, 27 presacrals, 2 sacrals and about 45-50 caudals.-Shoulder girdle strong and compact. Clavicle much ventrally widened, with a large perforation. Interclavicle cruciform with anterior process bent upwards. Humerus shortened with wide epiphyses. Forearm shortened and wide. Phalangeal formula of manus 2.3.4.5.3. Pelvic girdle normal with no tendency to reduction. Hind limbs well developed with IV finger longest and V considerably shortened. Phalangeal formula of pes 2.3.4.5.4. Tail relatively long, probably longer than the body. | |
| V. R. Alifanov 1993 | Lizards of various sizes. postorbital and postfrontal bones forming bicondylar articular surface for cruciform contact between them. Frontal bones always paired. palatine processes of pterygoid bones long, their contact with vomers rarely lost. lateral process of coronoid almost indiscernable or small, and contacting ventrally on dentary bone. Teeth conical, tri- or multitubercular and always subpleurodont. |