Lepidosauromorpha

Reconstruction of Icarosaurus siefkeri, copyright Nobu Tamura.

Belongs within: Neodiapsida.
Contains: Sauropterygia, Testudinata, Lepidosauria.

The Lepidosauromorpha are a clade of reptiles including all taxa more closely related to squamates than crocodiles or birds.

Synapomorphies (from Schoch & Sues 2015): Prefrontal-palatine contact broad, approaching mid-line; lower temporal fossa open ventrally; thyroid fenestra present; perforating artery in pes located between distal ends of tibia and fibula.

<==Lepidosauromorpha
    |  i. s.: Coartaredens Spencer & Storrs 2002 SS02
    |           `--*C. isaaci Spencer & Storrs 2002 SS02
    |         Anisodontosaurus greeri SS02
    |         Priscochelys hegnabrunnensis LW08
    |--+--Sauropterygia LW08
    |  `--Pan-Testudines SS15
    |       |--Eunotosaurus Seely 1892 SS15, D07 [Eunotosauridae]
    |       |    `--E. africanus D07
    |       `--+--Pappochelys Schoch & Sues 2015 SS15
    |          |    `--*P. rosinae Schoch & Sues 2015 SS15
    |          `--Testudinata SS15
    `--+--Palaeagama QG90
       `--+--Paliguana whitei QG90, NB17
          |--Saurosternon QG90
          `--+--+--Marmoretta LG07
             |  `--Lepidosauria LG07
             `--Kuehneosauridae LG07
                  |--Kuehneosuchus E88
                  |--Kuehneosaurus Robinson 1967 D07
                  |    `--K. latus D07
                  `--Icarosaurus Colbert 1961 LG07, D07
                       `--I. siefkeri W91

*Type species of generic name indicated

REFERENCES

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

[E88] Evans, S. E. 1988. The early history and relationships of the Diapsida. In: Benton, M. J. (ed.) The Phylogeny and Classification of the Tetrapods vol. 1. Amphibians, Reptiles, Birds pp. 221–260. Clarendon Press: Oxford.

[LW08] Li, C., X.-C. Wu, O. Rieppel, L.-T. Wang & L.-J. Zhao. 2008. An ancestral turtle from the Late Triassic of southwestern China. Nature 456: 497–501.

[LG07] Li, P.-P., K.-Q. Gao, L.-H. Hou & X. Xu. 2007. A gliding lizard from the Early Cretaceous of China. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA 104 (13): 5507–5509.

[NB17] Nesbitt, S. J., R. J. Butler, M. D. Ezcurra, P. M. Barrett, M. R. Stocker, K. D. Angielczyk, R. M. H. Smith, C. A. Sidor, G. Niedźwiedzki, A. G. Sennikov & A. J. Charig. 2017. The earliest bird-line archosaurs and the assembly of the dinosaur body plan. Nature 544: 484–487.

[QG90] Queiroz, K. de, & J. Gauthier. 1990. Phylogeny as a central principle in taxonomy: phylogenetic definitions of taxon names. Systematic Zoology 39 (4): 307–322.

[SS15] Schoch, R. R., & H.-D. Sues. 2015. A Middle Triassic stem-turtle and the evolution of the turtle body plan. Nature 523: 584–587.

[SS02] Spencer, P. S., & G. W. Storrs. 2002. A re-evaluation of small tetrapods from the Middle Triassic Otter Sandstone Formation of Devon, England. Palaeontology 45 (3): 447–467.

[W91] Wellnhofer, P. 1991. The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Pterosaurs.  Salamander Books: London (reprinted 2000, in: Norman, D., & P. Wellnhofer. The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs. Salamander Books).