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Kuehneosauridae is an extinct family of small, lizard-like lepidosauromorph diapsids known from the Triassic period of Europe and North America. They were distinguished from other diapsids by their 'wings', which were really sails of skin held up by bony struts similar to ribs. These sails would have served as gliding tools, but the kuehneosaurids were incapable of powered flight. They were most likely insectivorous, judging from their pin-like teeth. The oldest and most primitive known member is ''Pamelina'' from the Early Triassic (Olenekian stage) of Poland. ''Icarosaurus'', which is known from a single specimen from Carnian-aged Lockatong Formation of New Jersey, is basal to more advanced kuehneosaurids. The Late Triassic (Norian stage) kuehneosaurids from England, ''Kuehneosaurus'' and ''Kuehneosuchus'', are very similar and can be distinguished from one another primarily on the length of their "wing" ribs, relatively short and massive in ''Kuehneosaurus'' but longer and more gracile in ''Kuehneosuchus''.〔 ''Rhabdopelix'' may have been a kuehneosaurid; however, the fossils were lost, and the characteristics described are not entirely consistent with the other family members. The cladogram below follows a 2012 analysis by paleontologists Susan E. Evans and Magdalena Borsuk−Białynicka. }} }} }} }} }} }} ==References== * Steins, K., Palmer, C., Gill, P.G., and Benton, M.J. (2008). "The aerodynamics of the British Late Triassic Kuehneosauridae." ''Palaeontology'' 51(4): 967-981. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「kuehneosauridae」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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