Captorhinidae

Belongs within: Reptilia.

The Captorhinidae were a family of Permian reptiles, members of which include the oldest known herbivorous reptiles. Some of these herbivorous forms became relatively large, and two lineages evolved multiple marginal tooth rows (Modesto et al. 2007). The early genus Romeria, including two species from the lower Permian of Texas, was more plesiomorphic than other captorhinids and was classified by various earlier authors with members of a similar basal reptile family, the Protorothyrididae.

Synapomorphies (from Modesto et al. 2007): Premaxilla with ventral margin aligned anteroventrally in lateral aspect, alary process present on posterodorsal process; maxilla with posterior end flexed laterally in ventral aspect; premaxillary dentition with first tooth subequal to maxillary caniniforms; maxillary dentition with 25 or less tooth positions.

<==Captorhinidae [Captorhina]
    |  i. s.: Captorhinikos parvusM96
    |         CaptorhinoidesLR95
    |         HecatogomphiusLR95
    |         KahneriaLR95
    |         Moradisaurus grandis Ricqlès & Taquet 1982B93
    |         RothianiscusLR95
    |         Puercosaurus Williston 1916BR86
    |           `--P. obtusidens Williston 1916 (n. d.)BR86
    |--ConcordiaMR06
    `--+--RomeriaMS07
       |    |--R. prima Clark & Carroll 1973MS07
       |    `--R. texana Price 1937MS07
       `--+--Protocaptorhinus priceiMS07
          `--+--Rhiodenticulatus Berman & Reisz 1986MS07, BR86
             |    `--*R. heatoni Berman & Reisz 1986BR86
             `--+--Saurorictus Modesto & Smith 2001MS07, MS01
                |    `--*S. australis Modesto & Smith 2001MS01
                `--+--Captorhinus Cope 1918MS07, D07
                   |    |--C. laticeps [=Eocaptorhinus laticeps; incl. Labidosaurus oklahomensis Seltin 1959]MS07
                   |    `--+--C. aguti Cope 1882MS07, RCQ03 [=Eocaptorhinus agutiGM88]
                   |       `--C. magnusMS07
                   `--+--Labidosaurikos meachamiMS07
                      `--Labidosaurus Cope 1896MS07
                           `--*L. hamatus (Cope 1895) [incl. L. broilii Case 1911]MS07

*Type species of generic name indicated

References

[B93] Benton, M. J. 1993. Reptilia. In: Benton, M. J. (ed.) The Fossil Record 2 pp. 681–715. Chapman & Hall: London.

[BR86] Berman, D. S., & R. R. Reisz. 1986. Captorhinid reptiles from the Early Permian of New Mexico, with description of a new genus and species. Annals of Carnegie Museum 55 (1): 1–28.

[D07] Dixon, D. 2007. The Complete Illustrated Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs & Prehistoric Creatures. Hermes House: London.

[GM88] Gaffney, E. S., & P. A. Meylan. 1988. A phylogeny of turtles. In: Benton, M. J. (ed.) The Phylogeny and Classification of the Tetrapods vol. 1. Amphibians, Reptiles, Birds pp. 157–219. Clarendon Press: Oxford.

[LR95] Laurin, M., & R. R. Reisz. 1995. A reevaluation of early amniote phylogeny. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 113: 165–223.

[M96] Modesto, S. P. 1996. A basal captorhinid reptile from the Fort Sil fissures, Lower Permian of Oklahoma. Oklahoma Geology Notes 56 (1): 4–14.

[MS07] Modesto, S. P., D. M. Scott, D. S. Berman, J. Müller & R. R. Reisz. 2007. The skull and the paleoecological significance of Labidosaurus hamatus, a captorhinid reptile from the Lower Permian of Texas. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 149 (2): 237–262.

[MS01] Modesto, S. P., & R. M. H. Smith. 2001. A new Late Permian captorhinid reptile: a first record from the South African Karoo. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 21 (3): 405–409.

[MR06] Müller, J., & R. R. Reisz. 2006. The phylogeny of early eureptiles: comparing parsimony and Bayesian approaches in the investigation of a basal fossil clade. Systematic Biology 55 (3): 503–511.

[RCQ03] Ruta, M., M. I. Coates & D. L. J. Quicke. 2003. Early tetrapod relationships revisited. Biological Reviews 78: 251–345.