Skip to main content

Longisquama

Longisquama
Longisquama is a bit of a conundrum. These extinct reptiles were very small, lived way back in the Triassic, and had massive protrusions sticking out of their backs. In fact, those crazy looking growths are responsible for the genus name-- "Long Scales."

What were these hockey-stick shaped things? The most popular theory is that they were primitive feathers. However, it is still a mystery as to how they were specifically oriented. In a straight line? Staggered? Did they help the reptiles to glide? Or where they purely ornamental?

Notice that I never call Longisquama a Dinosaur-- that's because they weren't one. They were primitive reptiles in the Diapsid group, or so we think with the limited evidence. There is also some speculation that they may be a very ancient bird ancestor, but that would really mess up years of thinking-- it has generally been accepted that Birds evolved from more advanced Dinosaurs, not from primitive Diapsids like Longisquama!
IUCN Status : Extinct for 230 million years
Location : Asia
Size : Body Length up to 6in (15cm)
Classification : Phylum : Chordata -- Class : Reptilia -- Subclass : Diapsida
Genus : †Longisquama -- Species : L. insignis
Image : Nobu Tamura
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Bornean Orangutan

The Bornean Orangutan is one of two extant Orangutan species in the world. It is the third largest primate (after Gorillas) and is the largest primarily tree-dwelling animal in the world. Males are substantially larger than females, and average at around 165lbs. Bornean Orangutans are largely solitary. A handful might live within a small range but they will seldom interact with one another. Males and females only meet up to breed, which happens only once every several years. A young Orangutan will stay with it's mother for about five years, and the females tend to go about eight years between births. That is the longest interim period of any animal! Sadly, the Bornean Orangutans are in a lot of trouble. They need large forests in order to thrive, and deforestation and habitat degradation has left many homeless. They are also hunted for meat and for traditional medicines. Conservation areas are being established to help these guys in the wild, and it is believed that there are a...
59 comments
Read more

Banggai Cardinalfish

Pterapogon kauderni The Banggai Cardinalfish is a small tropical fish that is becoming very rare in the wild, even though it has been successfully bred in captivity. You will only find these small, 3in long fish around the Banggai Islands of Indonesia. They are the only members of their genus, and you can tell them apart from other Cardinalfish by their three-striped bodies, tasseled first dorsal fin, long second dorsal, and their deep-forked tail fins. Banggai Cardinalfish are diurnal and live in small groups of about a dozen members. They are opportunistic feeders who dine on whatever smaller plants and animals they can find. Courtship and mating is pretty interesting for these guys-- females are the ones who initiate. They isolate a male and the pair will perform various courtship rituals before spawning. The Cardinalfish are mouthbrooders, which means that the males take the fertilized eggs (up to 90 of them) into their mouths and incubate them for up to 30 days. During t...
37 comments
Read more

Four!

For anyone who was counting, yesterday was our birthday-- four years! Four years filled with animals from A to Z, more than 1,100 of them! I can't thank my readers enough, it's been wonderful! And in celebration of that milestone... I'm taking a break. Hopefully not forever, but for a little bit at least. In the mean time I plan on getting a new layout out, along with some updates to some of the older articles. I'll post updates here and on the Facebook page, I'm also brainstorming some new animal-related projects, so keep an eye out! Thanks again for four awesome years!
18 comments
Read more