Weigeltisauridae Temporal range: Lopingian
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Skeleton of Weigeltisaurus | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Reptilia |
Clade: | Neodiapsida |
Family: | †Weigeltisauridae Kuhn, 1939 |
Genera | |
Synonyms | |
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Weigeltisauridae is a family of gliding neodiapsid reptiles that lived during the Late Permian, between 259.51 and 251.9 million years ago. Fossils of weigeltisaurids have been found in Madagascar, Germany, Great Britain, and Russia. They are characterized by long, hollow rod-shaped bones extending from the torso that probably supported wing-like membranes.[2] Similar membranes are also found in several other extinct reptiles such as kuehneosaurids and Mecistotrachelos, as well as living gliding lizards, although each group evolved these structures independently.