Sauria

Sauria is the clade of diapsids containing the most recent common ancestor of Archosauria and Lepidosauria, and all its descendants. Since most molecular phylogenies recover turtles as more closely related to archosaurs than to lepidosaurs as part of Archelosauria, Sauria likely contains all living reptiles and can be considered the reptile crown group, and may therefore be synonymous with Reptilia under some definitions. Sauria may also include other major extinct reptile groups, such as the marine reptile clades Sauropterygia, Ichthyosauromorpha, and Thalattosauria.

Sauria

Collage by Kiwi Rex · CC BY-SA 3.0 · via Wikipedia/Commons. May be a photograph of a specimen, or an artist’s reconstruction — an interpretation of a skeleton, since colour and soft tissue are almost never preserved.

On record

Recorded, not inferred
Also called
crown diapsidPBDB
Sits inside
NeodiapsidaPBDB
Motility
actively mobilePBDB, for Osteichthyes
Environment
terrestrialPBDB, for Amniota

Time the record covers

At least 250 million years on record.

The record covers at least 250.8 Mya to 11.7 ka. No occurrence read is dated outside 251.902 Mya to 0 Mya.

Permian — about 0 of 877 occurrencesEarly Triassic — about 11 of 877 occurrencesMiddle Triassic — about 18 of 877 occurrencesLate Triassic — about 164 of 877 occurrencesLate TriassicEarly Jurassic — about 53 of 877 occurrencesEarly JurassicMiddle Jurassic — about 39 of 877 occurrencesLate Jurassic — about 116 of 877 occurrencesEarly Cretaceous — about 100 of 877 occurrencesEarly CretaceousLate Cretaceous — about 284 of 877 occurrencesLate CretaceousPaleocene — about 54 of 877 occurrencesEocene — about 6 of 877 occurrencesEoceneOligocene — about 1 of 877 occurrencesMiocene — about 8 of 877 occurrencesPliocene — about 3 of 877 occurrencesPleistocene — about 9 of 877 occurrences257–248 Mya — about 9 occurrences248–240 Mya — about 12 occurrences240–231 Mya — about 55 occurrences231–223 Mya — about 43 occurrences223–214 Mya — about 21 occurrences214–206 Mya — about 24 occurrences206–197 Mya — about 47 occurrences197–188 Mya — about 18 occurrences188–180 Mya — about 14 occurrences180–171 Mya — about 5 occurrences171–163 Mya — about 38 occurrences163–154 Mya — about 6 occurrences154–146 Mya — about 88 occurrences146–137 Mya — about 41 occurrences137–128 Mya — about 9 occurrences128–120 Mya — about 26 occurrences120–111 Mya — about 27 occurrences111–103 Mya — about 17 occurrences103–94 Mya — about 7 occurrences94–86 Mya — about 2 occurrences86–77 Mya — about 61 occurrences77–69 Mya — about 147 occurrences69–60 Mya — about 98 occurrences60–51 Mya — about 27 occurrences51–43 Mya — about 2 occurrences43–34 Mya — about 2 occurrences34–26 Mya — about 0.7 occurrences26–17 Mya — about 5 occurrences17–8.6 Mya — about 3 occurrences8.6–0 Mya — about 23 occurrences250.8 Mya11.7 ka257 Mya0 Mya

877 occurrences of Sauria on record, most of them in the Late Cretaceous. The Paleobiology Database records this as a living group. Bar height is expected occurrences, not a count: each fossil is spread across the span it is dated to, so a tall narrow bar means tight dating and a low wide one means loose.

When

877 occurrences

These are dates about fossils, not the animal: the record can only begin after it arose and end before it died out, so either end may reach further. Shares are expected occurrences: a fossil dated to a span is counted partly in each period it straddles. More on what this infers.

Found in

168 formations

Hell Creek — 47.80°N, 106.10°WHell Creek — 47.68°N, 106.43°WHell Creek — 45.95°N, 103.96°WHell Creek — 46.10°N, 103.30°WHell Creek — 45.98°N, 103.75°WHell Creek — 46.18°N, 103.84°WHell Creek — 46.14°N, 103.80°WHell Creek — 46.38°N, 103.96°WHell Creek — 46.33°N, 103.90°WHell Creek — 46.46°N, 104.00°WHell Creek — 46.36°N, 103.90°WHell Creek — 45.94°N, 103.95°WHell Creek — 45.53°N, 101.63°WHell Creek — 47.55°N, 107.12°WHell Creek — 47.62°N, 107.32°WHell Creek — 47.52°N, 106.98°WHell Creek — 47.57°N, 107.10°WHell Creek — 47.52°N, 106.40°WHell Creek — 47.55°N, 107.25°WHell Creek — 47.07°N, 106.92°WHell Creek — 47.60°N, 106.27°WHell Creek — 47.53°N, 106.88°WHell Creek — 47.60°N, 107.23°WHell Creek — 46.90°N, 101.50°WHell Creek — 46.09°N, 100.63°WHell Creek — 47.61°N, 106.90°WHell Creek — 45.73°N, 104.89°WHell Creek — 47.60°N, 107.00°WHell Creek — 46.41°N, 103.50°WHell Creek — 45.66°N, 105.08°WHell Creek — 45.89°N, 104.55°WHell Creek — 45.50°N, 103.10°WHell Creek — 45.64°N, 103.49°WHell Creek — 46.33°N, 104.01°WHell Creek — 47.34°N, 108.22°WHell Creek — 45.00°N, 103.19°WMorrison — 40.42°N, 109.21°WMorrison — 41.89°N, 106.00°WMorrison — 39.24°N, 109.00°WMorrison — 41.99°N, 106.08°WMorrison — 38.58°N, 108.40°WMorrison — 38.73°N, 111.27°WMorrison — 38.54°N, 105.19°WMorrison — 40.44°N, 109.32°WMorrison — 38.81°N, 108.32°WMorrison — 38.32°N, 108.83°WMorrison — 39.17°N, 108.77°WMorrison — 44.49°N, 107.88°WMorrison — 44.46°N, 104.73°WMorrison — 44.18°N, 103.34°WMorrison — 40.47°N, 109.18°WMorrison — 41.88°N, 106.11°WMorrison — 39.15°N, 108.77°WMorrison — 39.01°N, 111.02°WMorrison — 40.30°N, 108.57°WMorrison — 44.06°N, 106.72°WDinosaur Park — 49.12°N, 110.47°WDinosaur Park — 50.82°N, 111.57°WDinosaur Park — 50.75°N, 111.48°WDinosaur Park — 50.74°N, 111.49°WDinosaur Park — 50.75°N, 111.40°WDinosaur Park — 50.78°N, 111.33°WDinosaur Park — 50.73°N, 111.57°WDinosaur Park — 49.96°N, 110.27°WDinosaur Park — 50.57°N, 111.76°WDinosaur Park — 50.56°N, 111.46°WDinosaur Park — 50.68°N, 108.09°WDinosaur Park — 50.51°N, 110.39°WOldman — 50.76°N, 111.62°WOldman — 50.75°N, 111.51°WOldman — 49.10°N, 110.94°WOldman — 49.08°N, 110.84°WOldman — 49.08°N, 110.68°WOldman — 49.16°N, 110.72°WOldman — 50.83°N, 111.32°WOldman — 50.70°N, 111.50°WOldman — 50.70°N, 111.63°WLance — 43.35°N, 104.48°WLance — 43.30°N, 104.37°WLance — 43.12°N, 104.64°WLance — 41.57°N, 108.67°WLance — 43.18°N, 104.53°WLance — 43.15°N, 104.57°WLance — 43.13°N, 104.49°WLance — 45.75°N, 101.20°WLance — 45.34°N, 103.72°WLance — 45.39°N, 103.70°WLance — 45.60°N, 103.63°WLance — 45.71°N, 102.05°WLance — 45.93°N, 103.92°WForest Marble — 51.87°N, 1.27°WForest Marble — 50.71°N, 2.78°WForest Marble — 50.68°N, 2.66°WForest Marble — 51.73°N, 1.98°WForest Marble — 51.51°N, 2.16°WFort Union — 44.67°N, 108.44°WFort Union — 44.67°N, 108.46°WFort Union — 43.85°N, 108.35°WFort Union — 45.20°N, 109.00°WFort Union — 46.05°N, 104.48°WFort Union — 47.00°N, 103.87°WFort Union — 44.89°N, 108.98°WFort Union — 44.98°N, 109.02°WFort Union — 46.90°N, 101.50°WFort Union — 47.60°N, 107.00°WFort Union — 44.89°N, 108.93°WLa Boca — 26.60°N, 99.52°WChinle — 34.44°N, 109.46°WChinle — 36.33°N, 106.47°WChinle — 35.84°N, 111.25°WChinle — 35.65°N, 111.12°WChinle — 35.05°N, 109.84°WChinle — 34.68°N, 109.58°WChinle — 35.03°N, 109.83°WChinle — 34.95°N, 109.76°WTecovas — 33.43°N, 101.16°WTecovas — 35.38°N, 102.16°WIlek — 56.53°N, 91.81°EIlek — 55.97°N, 88.09°EIlek — 55.88°N, 88.32°EIlek — 55.90°N, 87.96°EIlek — 56.57°N, 91.85°EIlek — 56.64°N, 91.99°EYixian — 41.13°N, 121.14°EYixian — 41.16°N, 119.31°EYixian — 41.37°N, 121.42°EYixian — 41.24°N, 119.40°EYixian — 41.53°N, 121.24°EYixian — 41.00°N, 119.40°EYixian — 40.97°N, 120.94°EYixian — 41.41°N, 119.12°ESolnhofen — 48.92°N, 11.12°ESolnhofen — 48.90°N, 11.19°ESolnhofen — 48.93°N, 11.98°ESolnhofen — 48.88°N, 10.95°EKlettgau — 47.50°N, 8.02°EKlettgau — 47.71°N, 8.45°EKlettgau — 47.71°N, 8.45°EKsar Metlili — 32.70°N, 3.22°WErfurt — 49.21°N, 9.68°EErfurt — 49.08°N, 9.89°EHorseshoe Canyon — 52.27°N, 113.80°WHorseshoe Canyon — 51.40°N, 112.71°WHorseshoe Canyon — 52.00°N, 112.88°WHorseshoe Canyon — 51.94°N, 112.96°WHorseshoe Canyon — 51.55°N, 112.88°WHorseshoe Canyon — 51.54°N, 112.88°WFrenchman — 49.50°N, 109.10°WFrenchman — 49.04°N, 106.60°WFrenchman — 49.40°N, 107.40°WFrenchman — 49.52°N, 108.82°WFrenchman — 49.30°N, 108.40°WMagnesian Conglomerate — 51.47°N, 2.62°WFerris — 41.94°N, 106.88°WMcCoy Brook — 45.40°N, 64.22°WJiufotang — 41.57°N, 120.16°EJiufotang — 41.40°N, 119.98°EJiufotang — 43.64°N, 120.43°EJiufotang — 41.51°N, 121.17°EJiufotang — 41.57°N, 120.45°EJiufotang — 42.27°N, 118.95°EFleming Fjord — 71.48°N, 22.68°WFleming Fjord — 71.37°N, 22.56°WLulworth — 50.60°N, 1.97°W

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The named rock units Sauria has been recovered from, largest first. Drawn where the rock is now, not where it formed. 144 further formations hold fewer occurrences each and are not listed. 170 occurrences have no formation on record, which is common for older literature.

Sauria and its relatives

Late Cretaceous

Where Sauria and its relatives were recorded in the Late Cretaceous.

Found in the same rock

1,614 taxa

The Paleobiology Database records 645 sites for Sauria, and this reads 240 of them. The number is how many of those sites it was catalogued from too. The 24 sharing the most are listed.

This is not a list of everything alive at the time. It is only what has come out of the same ground as this animal and been written down.

Entered from

414 references

Each of the 877 occurrences read was entered from one of these publications, ordered by how many each accounts for. This is not a search for papers mentioning the name. 402 further references are not listed. Entries link to doi.org where the Paleobiology Database holds an identifier, and to its own record where it does not. Relayed as the Paleobiology Database holds them, not checked against what they resolve to.

Media and terms

Media content2

Picture of Sauria

Credit
Collage by Kiwi Rex
Licence
CC BY-SA 3.0
Commercial use
the licence allows it

3D model

Source
Sketchfab
Licence
CC Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike
Commercial use
the licence does not allow it

Smithsonian Open Access was not reached for this taxon, so this list is what the others held rather than everything there is.

The description on this site

Licence
CC BY-SA 4.0

This is what the site found, which is not the same as what exists.

Keep going

What may have been alongside itNeodiapsida through timeFormations of the Late CretaceousThe world it lived on

Occurrence data from the Paleobiology Database, CC BY 4.0. Gauthier 1984