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Xavier A. Jenkins @semifossorial.bsky.social · 28/05/2026

Our paper on turtle origins is finally out in Current Biology, with two major implications for our understanding of reptile evolution 🐢 #Paleontology #Turtles #Evolution www.cell.com/current-biol...

A pair of Eunotosaurus by Gabriel Ugueto: a sense of scale is provided by Glossopterus leaves in the fore-and-background and by a prosbolid hemipteran insect

Phylogeny of major reptile groups, showing turtles (Pantestudines) as early archosauromorphs and the putative stem-turtle Eunotosaurus as a millerettid stem reptile

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The Palaeontological Association @thepalass.bsky.social · 23/01/2026

The origin of the tympanic fossa in reptiles revealed by a late Permian neodiapsid: new species Scyllacerta creanae onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/... #FossilFriday @semifossorial.bsky.social @morphobank.bsky.social

Top left: photograph of a grey slab containing multiple fossils, with vertebral columns clearly running vertically (SAM-Pk-K7710). This is a group of six Scyllacerta creanae individuals, including the holotype, a late Permian neodiapsid reptile from South Africa (scale bar at top right is 2 cm). Bottom right: a computer reconstruction of the skull based on three of the individuals in the fossil block. Scale bar at top right is 5 mm.

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Xavier A. Jenkins @semifossorial.bsky.social · 23/01/2026

Introducing a new Permian reptile: Scyllacerta creanae With a tympanic fossa on the quadrate and no lower temporal bar, Scyllacerta challenges long-standing ideas about when-and-how hearing evolved in reptiles 🦎👂 🔗 doi.org/10.1111/pala...

Skull of Scyllacerta, reconstructed based on scans of four nearly complete skulls.

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Xavier A. Jenkins @semifossorial.bsky.social · 18/11/2025

Buffa et al.’s paper on the enigmatic Permian reptile 🦎 Galesphyrus and the origin of Neodiapsida is out in the Journal of Systematic Palaeontology! Read the thread 👇 for some important takeaways from our study @valentinbuffa.bsky.social #Paleontology #Reptile #Permian doi.org/10.1080/1477...

The holotype of Galesphyrus, an articulated skeleton of a small stem reptile preserved as a mold. It is beautifully preserved, but decided to lose it’s skull prior to discovery

A diagram showing the evolutionary relationships of early reptiles found in this study. Importantly, this study places Galesphyrus as sister to Millerettidae + Neodiapsida, reconciling postcrania and cranial data for support of Parapleurota!

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jordangonet.bsky.social @jordangonet.bsky.social · 06/11/2025

📢 New collab led by @valentinbuffa.bsky.social in @journalofanatomy.bsky.social on the origin and musculoskeletal functions of the wings of Late Permian gliding reptiles! onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/...

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The Palaeontological Association @thepalass.bsky.social · 24/03/2025

Thadeosaurus colcanapi - an enigmatic lizard-like reptile from the Late Permian of Gondwana onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/... #PapersinPalaeontology

An artistic reconstruction of the enigmatic neodiapsid Thadeosaurus colcanapi from the upper Permian of Madagascar. The grey lizard-like animal with a long banded tail stands on a rock with water in the background and vegetation rich in Glossopteris (a leaf of which is present on the fossil material). Illustration by Sophie Fernandez (MNHN).

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