科学家发现蜥蜴的毛发基因

长期以来，科学家都认为毛发最初出现在哺乳动物中。毛发可为哺乳动物提供隔离和保护，一直被认为是一个生物进化上的创新。一项新研究表明，毛发的起源可以追溯到3亿年前古生代的爬行类。奥地利维也纳大学的科学家们发现，绿色变色蜥蜴的基因组中有6个编码角蛋白的基因（在哺乳动物中角蛋白与毛发生成密切相关），     

A New Lizard (Lepidosauria: Squamata) from the Upper Cretaceous of Henan, China

Funiusaurus luanchuanensis gen. et sp. nov. was described on the basis of an incomplete skull from the Upper Cretaceous Qiupa Formation of the Tantou Basin in Luanehuan County, Henan Province. It is the second representative of lizards known from Luanchuan and adds a new member to the Luanchuan Fauna. F. luanchuanensis is a small-sized lizard and systematically assigned to the Polyglyphanodontidae of the Teiioidea because of the presence of a caniniform tooth and an elongate posterior process of the postorbital. It is distinctive in that the heterodont dentition bears 19 teeth in both the upper and lower jaws, the 3^rd maxillary tooth is large and caniniform, the post-caniniform teeth in maxilla and those posterior to the 3^rd dentary tooth are chisel-like in lateral view, the prefrontal possesses a fossa on its lateral surface, the postorbital with an extremely elongate posterior process and the well-developed retroarticular process has a deep fossa on its dorsal surface. In phylogeny, our analysis suggests a close relationship of Funiusaurus to the large-sized Tianyusaurus from the same basin within the Tuberocephalosaurinae. The discovery of Funiusaurus is significant in confirming the status of the Tuberocephalosaurinae, which includes a group of the Asian members of the Polyglyphanodontidae only.     

A Titanosaurian Sauropod Dinosaur with Opisthocoelous Caudal Vertebrae from the Early Late Cretaceous of Liaoning Province, China

We describe a new titanosaurian sauropod dinosaur, Borealosaurus wimani gen. et sp. nov., based on a distinctive mid-distal caudal vertebra from the early Late Cretaceous Sunjiawan Formation exposed in the Shuangmiao village of Beipiao in Liaoning, China. We provisionally refer an isolated tooth crown, a middle caudal vertebra, and a right humerus from the same locality and horizon to this taxon. Borealosaurus is distinguished from other sauropods in its possession of opisthocoelous mid-distal caudal vertebrae. The occurrence of opisthocoelous caudals in Borealosaurus and the Mongolian sauropod Opisthocoelicaudia raises the possibility that these taxa pertain to an as-yet unrecognized titanosaurian subclade endemic to the Cretaceous Asia.     

地学书签

板果龙板果龙是一种巨大的海生蜥蜴,它凭借长身体和纤细的尾巴能像蛇一样在水中游泳,长有宽大有蹼的脚掌。它的尖利的牙齿可以用来捉鱼和鱿鱼吃。长而有力的垂直扁平的尾巴推动板果龙在水中象蛇一样游动,鳍状肢控制游泳方向。一些化石标本有较厚的耳膜,它可能允许这种海中怪物进入深水追逐鱼儿。板果龙是一种中型沧龙,有着长而窄的下巴和尖锐锋利的牙齿。这种水生蜥蜴能长到7米长,在白垩纪晚期它们漫游在浅海里寻找小鱼和鱿鱼。在食物方面,板果龙比它们更大更凶残的亲戚海王龙更挑剔,后者是一     

Postcranial Anatomy of the Mesozoic Dalinghosaurus (Squamata): Evidence from a New Specimen of Western Liaoning

The postcranial skeleton of a new specimen of the long-tailed lizard Dalinghosaurus longidigitus was excavated from the Yixian Formation in Lingyuan, western Liaoning. The new specimen provides more anatomical information about this species, especially about the anterior dorsal vertebrae, shoulder girdle and forelimbs. This lizard can be included within the clade Scleroglossa by its 27 or more presacrals, moderately long pubis, and gently notched distal end of tibia. But the detailed systematic position for this taxon remains undetermined. The features of the much longer hind limbs and pes compared with forelimbs and manus, metatarsal Ⅳ longer than Ⅲ, pedal phalanges robust, and penultimate phalanx not longer than other phalanges etc. suggest that this lizard was a running and ground swelling animal.     

化石的记忆

晚白垩世巴彦满都呼恐龙动物群1987年中加恐龙考察团发现,分布于乌拉特后旗宝音图苏木地区。恐龙动物群以原角龙、绘龙、疾走龙、窃蛋龙、似鸟龙和龟鳖类、鳄类、蜥蜴类、各类     

失而复得:细小矢部龙(蜥蜴亚目)化石新材料

1942年,日本学者远藤隆次和鹿间时夫记述了辽宁义县枣茨山的一件蜥蜴化石,并定名为细小矢部龙(Yabeinosaurus tenuis)[1].该化石在相当长的一段时间内代表了我国热河动物群中唯一一件蜥蜴类化石[2-3].但遗憾的是,该正型标本在抗日战争时期下落不明.1958年和1995年,杨钟健和姬书安又分别将辽宁凌源房身鸽子洞和北票尖山沟的两件蜥蜴化石归入细小矢部龙[4-5],但凌源房身鸽子洞标本的归属仍需进一步研究.2000年,汪筱林等报道了在凌源大王杖子也有细小矢部龙化石的发现[6].最近,我们在辽宁义县金刚山义县组金刚山层采到一件保存较为完好的蜥蜴类化石,该标本无疑为细小矢部龙(Y.Tenuis),且与同种的正型标本在大小、形态特征等方面几乎完全一致.金刚山与枣茨山毗邻,两者的化石层位完全相同,由于枣茨山细小矢部龙的正型标本已丢失,建议将金刚山的标本作为该种的新型标本.