Younginiformes
Younginiformes
Extinct group of reptiles
Younginiformes is a group of diapsid reptiles known from the Permian-Triassic of Africa and Madagascar. It has been used as a replacement for "Eosuchia".[1] Younginiformes (including Acerosodontosaurus, Hovasaurus, Kenyasaurus, Tangasaurus, Thadeosaurus and Youngina) were historically suggested to be lepidosauromorphs, but were later suggested to be basal non-saurian neodiapsids.[2][3] The group is sometimes divided into two families, Tangasauridae and Younginidae. The monophyly of the group is disputed. A 2009 study found them to be an unresolved polytomy at the base of Neodiapsida,[4] while a 2011 study recovered the group as paraphyletic.[5] A 2022 study recovered the Younginiformes as a monophyletic group of basal neodiapsid reptiles, also including Claudiosaurus and Saurosternon as part of the group.[6] Some younginiforms like Hovasaurus and Acerosodontosaurus are thought to have had an amphibious lifestyle, while others like Kenyasaurus, Thadeosaurus and Youngina were probably terrestrial.[4]