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Avicephala
Avicephala is a possibly polyphyletic and therefore disused clade of diapsid reptiles that lived during the Late Permian and Triassic periods. Many species had odd specialized grasping limbs and prehensile tails, adapted to arboreal (and possibly aquatic) lifestyles.
== Description ==
The name "Avicephala" means "bird heads", in reference to the distinctive triangular skulls of these reptiles that mimic the shape of bird skulls. A few avicephalans, such as ''Hypuronector'', even appear to have had pointed, toothless, bird-like beaks. This cranial similarity to birds has led a few scientists to theorize that birds descended from avicephalans like ''Longisquama'', though a majority see the similarity simply as convergence. This similarity may also have led to the possible misidentification of the would-be "first bird", ''Protoavis''.〔Renesto, S. (2000). "Bird-like head on a chameleon body: new specimens of the enigmatic diapsid reptile ''Megalancosaurus'' from the Late Triassic of northern Italy." ''Rivista Italiana di Paleontologia e Stratigrafia'', 106: 157–180. (Abstract )〕
Avicephalans possessed a variety of odd and distinctive characteristics in addition to their bird-like skulls. Some displayed unique dermal appendages, such as the feather-like dorsal plumes of ''Longisquama'', and the laterally-oriented rib-like rods of ''Coelurosauravus'', which supported membranes and may have been used to glide from branch to branch in an arboreal habitat.
Another avicephalan group, the drepanosaurids, featured a suite of bizarre, almost chameleon-like skeletal features. Above the shoulders of most species was a specialized "hump" formed from fusion of the vertebrae, possibly used for advanced muscle attachments to the neck, and allowing for quick forward-striking movement of the head (perhaps to catch insects). Many had derived hands with two fingers opposed to the remaining three, an adaptation for grasping branches. Some individuals of ''Megalancosaurus'' (possibly exclusive to either males or females) had a primate-like opposable toe on each foot, perhaps used by one sex for extra grip during mating. Most species had broad, prehensile tails, sometimes tipped with a large "claw", again to aid in climbing. These tails, tall and flat like those of newts and crocodiles, have led some researches to conclude that they were aquatic rather than arboreal. In 2004, Senter dismissed this idea, while Colbert and Olsen, in their description of ''Hypuronector'', state that while other drepanosaurs were probably arboreal, ''Hypuronector'' was uniquely adapted to aquatic life.〔Senter, P. (2004). "Phylogeny of Drepanosauridae (Reptilia: Diapsida)." ''Journal of Systematic Palaeontology'', 2(3): 257-268.〕 The tail of this genus was extremely deep and non-prehensile – much more fin-like than other drepanosaurs.〔Colbert, E. H., and Olsen, P. E. (2001). "A new and unusual aquatic reptile from the Lockatong Formation of New Jersey (Late Triassic, Newark Supergroup)." ''American Museum Novitates'', 3334: 1-24.〕
抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』
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