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• Image Gallery
Reptile Diversity
The Mesozoic Era was also the age of reptiles. Snakes, crocodiles, and turtles first slithered, crouched, and ambled across the landscape. In the skies soared flying reptiles called pterosaurs, some the size of small airplanes.
Many of these remarkable reptiles went extinct by the end of the Mesozoic Era, leaving no descendants. Others survived, giving rise to the reptiles we know today.
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Crocodiles | Pterosaurs | Snakes, Lizards, Turtles
Crocodiles
Most Mesozoic reptiles were diapsid reptiles, which are unique for having two opening openings behind each eye socket. (Every reptile living today is a diapsid reptile.)
Scientists think the holes allow more room for muscles to expand. But more importantly, they are a unique feature all diapsids share. Organisms that share unique features are closely related.
Pterosaurs
For more than 100 million years, insects were the only flying animals. Then, around 200 million years ago, flying reptiles called pterosaurs (TEHR-uh-sorz) appeared. Pterosaurs were the first flying vertebrates—they took flight before birds even appeared.
Early pterosaurs were small, sharp-toothed, and had long rudder-like tails. Most later forms had toothless beaks, short tails, and ranged from pigeon-sized to small airplane-sized. By the end of the Mesozoic Era, all were extinct.
Snakes and Lizards
Snakes evolved from lizards. Lizards first arose around 150 million years ago, during the Jurassic Period. Snakes arose around 50 million years later.
Even though snakes are limbless, they are still tetrapods (four-limbed vertebrates). Their ancestors were tetrapods, so they belong to the tetrapod group. Their lack of limbs is an adaptation, probably for burrowing.
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