GEOLOGY 103: CLASSIFICATION OF REPTILES AND DINOSAURS.

Underlined names should be learned.

Class Reptilia - Mississippian to Recent.

Subclass Anapsida - Mississippian to Recent. The stem reptiles. Living representatives are the turtles.

Subclass Synapsida - Mid. Penn. to Mid. Jurassic.

  • Order Pelycosauria - Mid. Penn. to Late Permian; Dimetrodon.

    Order Therapsida - Late Permian to Mid. Jurassic. The ancestors of the mammals.

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    • Subclass Diapsida - Late Penn. to Recent.

    Superorder Lepidosauria - Late Permian to Recent. Snakes lizards, and mosasaurs.

    Superorder Sauropterygia - Late Permian to Late Cretaceous. Nothosaurs and plesiosaurs, and the Loch Ness Monster(?).

    Superorder Archosauria - Late Permian to Recent.

  • Order Thecodontia - Late Permian to Early Jurassic. The ancestors of the dinosaurs.

    Order Crocodylia - Late Triassic to Recent. Crocodiles.

    Order Pterosauria - Late Triassic to Late Cret. The flying reptiles.

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    • Subclass Euryapsida - Early Triassic to Late Cretaceous. The ichthyosaurs.

    Class Dinosauria - Late Triassic to Recent?

    Order Saurischia - Late Triassic to Recent?

  • Suborder Theropoda - Late Triassic to Recent? The carnivorous dinosaurs and the first birds. Includes the famous Tyrannosaurus rex and Archaeopteryx.

    Suborder Sauropoda - Late Triassic to Late Cret. The largest dinosaurs. Includes the famous Apatosaurus (Brontosaurus).

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    • Order Ornithischia - Late Triassic to Late Cretaceous.

  • Suborder Ornithopoda - Late Triassic to Late Cret. Includes duck-billed dinosaurs.

    Suborder Pachycephalosauria - Early to Late Cretaceous. The head-butting dinosaurs.

    Suborder Stegosaria - Late Jurassic to Early Cretaceous. Stegosaurs had the big, bony plates on their backs.

    Suborder Ankylosauria - Late Jurassic to Late Cret. The armored dinosaurs.

    Suborder Ceratopsia - Early to Late Cret. The parrot-beaked dinosaurs. Includes the famous Triceratops.

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