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2025 in reptile paleontology
Overview of the events of 2025 in reptile paleontology From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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This catalog of fossil reptile research published in 2025 includes a list of new taxa that were described during the year 2025, as well as other significant discoveries and events related to reptile paleontology that occurred in 2025.
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Squamates
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New squamate taxa
Squamate research
- A study on the biogeography of squamates throughout their evolutionary history is published by Wilenzik & Pyron (2025), who identify Europe and northeastern Asia as the most likely areas of the origin of Squamata.[3]
- A maxilla representing the first cranial material of a monitor lizard from the Miocene of India reported to date is described by Čerňanský & Patnaik (2025).[4]
- López-Rueda et al. (2025) describe new mosasaur material from the Upper Cretaceous Labor-Tierna and Plaeners formations (Colombia), including the first record of a member of the genus Globidens from northern South America reported to date.[5]
- A study on patterns of the foraging area preference of members of different mosasaur groups throughout the Late Cretaceous, as indicated by carbon isotope composition of tooth enamel, is published by Polcyn et al. (2025).[6]
- A study on teeth of mosasaurs from the Campanian Bearpaw Formation (Alberta, Canada), providing evidence of dietary niche differentiation of the studied taxa, is published by Holwerda et al. (2025).[7]
- A study on diversity of tooth shapes and likely dietary preferences of Maastrichtian mosasaurs from the Phosphates of Morocco is published by Bardet et al. (2025), who also transfer Platecarpus (?) ptychodon Arambourg (1952) to the genus Gavialimimus, and interpret it as a probable senior synonym of Gavialimimus almaghribensis.[8]
- Grigoriev et al. (2025) describe fossil material of Latoplatecarpus cf. L. willistoni from the Campanian Rybushka Formation (Saratov Oblast, Russia), representing the first known record of the genus outside of North America.[9]
- Georgalis (2025) revises Plesiotortrix edwardsi from the Quercy Phosphorites Formation (France), and considers it to be nomen dubium.[10]
- The oldest cranial remains of a member of Constrictores (the group including boas and pythons) described and figured from the Cenozoic of Europe to date are reported from the Eocene (Ypresian) strata from the Cos locality (Quercy Phosphorites Formation, France) by Čerňanský et al. (2025).[11]
- Venczel et al. (2025) describe new fossil material of snakes from Eocene and Oligocene localities in the Transylvanian Basin (Romania), including cf. Messelophis variatus from the Oligocene (Rupelian) strata of the Dâncu Formation which might represent the last occurrence of ungaliophiids in Europe.[12]
- Evidence from the study of lizard and snake fossils from Eocene localities in Wyoming and North Dakota (United States), interpreted as indicative of warmer and wetter climate in mid-latitude North America during the late Eocene than indicated by earlier studies, is presented by Smith & Bruch (2025).[13]
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Ichthyosauromorphs
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New ichthyosauromorph taxa
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Ichthyosauromorph research
- A description of the cranial anatomy of a specimen of Hupehsuchus nanchangensis is published by Zhao et al. (2025).[15]
- Maisch (2025) argues that ichthyosaurs were not closely related to mesosaurs and hupehsuchians, and proposes that owenettids were the closest known relatives of ichthyosaurs.[16]
- Pardo-Pérez et al. (2025) describe a gravid ichthyosaur specimen (possibly belonging to the species Myobradypterygius hauthali) from the Hauterivian strata from the Torres del Paine National Park, representing the first complete ichthyosaur specimen reported from Chile.[17]
- Meyerkort et al. (2025) describe a phalanx bone of a brachypterygiid ichthyosaur from the middle–upper Cenomanian strata of the Gearle Siltstone (Australia), representing the geologically youngest ichthyosaur record from the Southern Hemisphere reported to date.[18]
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Sauropterygians
New sauropterygian taxa
Sauropterygian research
- Su et al. (2025) describe two new specimens of Glyphoderma kangi, providing new information on the anatomy of the studied placodont.[19]
- Ruciński et al. (2025) describe fossil material of a member of the genus Henodus from the Upper Triassic Silves Group (Portugal), expanding known geographical range of members of the genus.[20]
- A study on the skull anatomy and phylogenetic affinities of Keichousaurus hui is published by Xu et al. (2025).[21]
- Cabezuelo-Hernández et al. (2025) report evidence of non-infectious pathologies in the dorsal vertebrae of the holotype specimen of Paludidraco multidentatus, different from vertebral pathologies reported in other marine reptile specimens as interpreted as most likely caused by either a congenital disorder or long-term biomechanical stress.[22]
- Marx et al. (2025) report evidence of preservation of skin traces, including smooth skin on the tail and scaly skin on the flippers, as well as evidence of preservation of melanosomes and keratinocytes in a plesiosaur specimen from the Lower Jurassic Posidonia Shale (Germany).[23]
- Redescription and a study on the affinities of Seeleyosaurus guilelmiimperatoris is published by Sachs et al. (2025), who interpret Plesiopterys wildi as a taxon distinct from S. guilelmiimperatoris.[24]
- Description of a new specimen of Plesiopterys wildi from the Toarcian Posidonia Shale (Germany) and a study on the phylogenetic affinities of the species is published by Marx et al. (2025).[25]
- O'Gorman et al. (2025) describe a partial skeleton of an osteologically immature elasmosaurid with preserved skull bones from the Upper Cretaceous Snow Hill Island Formation (Antarctica), possibly representing a taxon distinct from Vegasaurus molyi.[26]
- New polycotylid fossil material, possibly belonging to a previously unknown large-toothed member of the group, is described from the Campanian strata in European Russia by Zverkov & Meleshin (2025).[27]
- Zverkov, Grigoriev & Nikiforov (2025) describe new fossil material of Polycotylus sopozkoi from the Upper Cretaceous (Santonian–Campanian) strata from the Izhberda quarry (Orenburg Oblast, Russia), providing new information on the morphology of members of the species.[28]
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Turtles
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New turtle taxa
Turtle research
- Neto et al. (2025) describe new fossil material of Chelus colombiana from the Miocene Solimões Formation (Brazil), and interpret its morphology as supporting the presence of a single species of Chelus in the Miocene of South America.[34]
- Fossil material of a member of the genus Phrynops distinct from Phrynops paranensis is described from the Miocene Palo Pintado Formation (Argentina) by de la Fuente et al. (2025).[35]
- Pérez-García (2025) revises the fossil material of "Podocnemis" parva and "P." judaea, interprets the latter species as a junior synonym of the former one, and confirms assignment of "P." parva to the bothremydid genus Algorachelus.[36]
- A study on the neuroanatomy of Azzabaremys moragjonesi, providing evidence of convergences of its neuroanatomical structures with those of other turtles adapted to marine environments, is published by Martín-Jiménez & Pérez-García (2025).[37]
- Tong et al. (2025) describe the cranial morphology of Foxemys mechinorum from the Late Cretaceous Massecaps locality (France), reporting that the cranial differences exhibited in the studied specimens are interpreted as intraspecific variation or ontogeny. [38]
- A study on the shell histology of Maastrichtian and Paleocene trionychids is published by Ong, Snively & Woodward (2025).[39]
- Jannello et al. (2025) study shell histology of marine turtles from the Eocene La Meseta and Submeseta formations (Antarctica), and report that histological variation of the studied sample of fossils exceeds its macromorphological variation.[40]
- Guerrero et al. (2025) describe and analyze the different types of bioerosion marks present in the shells of the pancheloniids Eochelone brabantica and Puppigerus camperi of the middle Eocene (Lutetian) of Belgium.[41]
- A caudal vertebra of a sea turtle interpreted as comparable in size with the type specimen of Archelon ischyros is described from the Cenomanian–Santonian strata from the Malyy Prolom locality (Ryazan Oblast, Russia) by Danilov et al. (2025).[42]
- Lehman et al. (2025) describe new fossil material of turtles from the Upper Cretaceous Aguja and Javelina formations (Texas), United States), including the first records of Denazinemys nodosa, Neurankylus baueri and Thescelus rapiens from the studied formations, as well as trionychids other than cf. Aspideretoides, likely kinosternoids and chelydrids.[43]
- A study on the composition of the turtle assemblage from the Upper Cretaceous Menefee Formation (New Mexico, United States) is published by Adrian, Smith & McDonald (2025), who describe fossil material extending known stratigraphic ranges of Neurankylus baueri, Scabremys ornata and the genera Thescelus and Basilemys.[44]
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Archosauriformes
Archosaurs
Other archosauriforms
New miscellaneous archosauriform taxa
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Archosauriform research
- Müller (2025) describes fossil material of a proterochampsid from the Middle Triassic strata from the Posto site (Pinheiros-Chiniquá Sequence; Brazil), possibly representing a previously undescribed species and expanding known diversity of Middle Triassic proterochampsids from South America.[47]
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Other reptiles
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New miscellaneous reptile taxa
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Other reptile research
- Piñeiro et al. (2025) reevaluate purported evidence for the presence of tail autotomy in mesosaurs, and consider it more likely that purported evidence of autotomy actually shows that mesosaurs may display a previously undocumented vertebral type in their caudal vertebrae.[51]
- A redescription of the skull anatomy of Milleropsis pricei is published by Jenkins et al. (2025) based on μCT data.[52]
- A redescription of the skull anatomy of Milleretta rubidgei is published by Jenkins et al. (2025) based on μCT data.[53]
- Redescription of Permotriturus herrei, based on data from the holotype and from a new specimen from Tatarstan (Russia), is published by Bulanov (2025).[54]
- Smith et al. (2025) study the taphonomy of aggregations of skeletons of Procolophon trigoniceps from Brazil, South Africa and Antarctica, interpreted as indicating that the studied reptiles lived in environments switching from drought to deluge conditions in response to climatic instability, and interpret P. trigoniceps as a likely group-living, fossorial animal.[55]
- Redescription and a study on the affinities of Thadeosaurus colcanapi is published by Buffa et al. (2025).[56]
- Evidence of adaptations for climbing in the skeleton of Marmoretta oxoniensis is presented by Ford et al. (2025).[57]
- Colombi et al. (2025) report the discovery of an aggregation of four juvenile specimens of Hyperodapedon sanjuanensis from the Ischigualasto Formation (Argentina), interpreted as probable evidence of social and burrowing behavior of the studied rhynchosaur.[58]
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Reptiles in general
- Long et al. (2025) describe tracks produced by an amniote (probably early member of Sauropsida) from the Carboniferous (Tournaisian) Snowy Plains Formation (Victoria, Australia), providing evidence that the crown group of Amniota is, at a minimum, only marginally younger than the Devonian/Carboniferous transition; the authors also describe amniote tracks from the Serpukhovian to Bashkirian Wałbrzych Formation (Poland), similar to tracks assigned to the ichnogenus Notalacerta that were likely produced by a sauropsid.[59]
- Review of the fossil record of Triassic-Jurassic reptiles from the Connecticut Valley (Connecticut and Massachusetts, United States) is published by Galton, Regalado Fernández & Farlow (2025), who consider Ammosaurus major to be a separate taxon from Anchisaurus polyzelus.[60]
- Fossil material of nothosauroids, indeterminate eosauropterygians and a member of the genus Macrocnemus is described from the Ladinian Sceltrich beds (Meride Limestone, Monte San Giorgio, Switzerland) by Renesto & Magnani (2025), providing evidence of similarity of reptile faunas from the Sceltrich beds and underlying Cassina beds.[61]
- Evidence from the study of the phosphate oxygen isotope composition of plesiosaur, ichthyosaur and metriorhynchid fossil material from the Middle and Upper Jurassic strata in France and Upper Jurassic to Lower Cretaceous strata in Norway, interpret as consistent with homeothermy and endothermy in ichthyosaurs, poikilothermy and endothermy in plesiosaurs, and uncertain thermoregulation strategy resulting in poikilothermy in metriorhynchids, is presented by Séon et al. (2025).[62]
- Marquina-Blasco et al. (2025) describe the assemblage of reptile fossils from the Miocene strata from the Crevillente 2 and Crevillente 15 sites (Spain), possibly including the oldest fossil material of a member of the genus Timon reported to date, and interpret the studied fossils as indicating that the Vallesian Crisis did not have a major impact on the herpetofaunal communities of the Iberian Peninsula.[63]
- Evidence from the study of extant reptiles, indicative of utility of studies of calcium and strontium isotope composition of hard tissues for reconstructions of diets of fossil reptiles, is presented by Weber et al. (2025).[64]
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References
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