Name:
Vallesaurus
(Valle’s lizard).
Phonetic: Val-le-sor-us.
Named By: S. Renesto & G. Binelli -
2006.
Classification: Chordata, Reptilia,
Protorosauria, Simiosauria
Species: V. cenensis
(type), V. zorzinensis.
Diet: Insectivore?
Size: Roughly about 15 centimetres long.
Known locations: Italy - Zorzino Limestone
Formation.
Time period: Norian of the Triassic.
Fossil representation: Complete remains of more than
one individual.
Vallesaurus is a genus of small drepanosaur that lived in Italy during the late Triassic. drepanosaurs were arboreal lizards with hands and claws adapted for holding onto branches, as well as tails which hooked downwards for further grip. In essence that lived in much the same way as modern day chamaeleons, though it is uncertain if Vallesaurus had an extensible tongue.
Further reading
- Vallesaurus cenensis Wild 1991, a
drepanosaurid (Retilia,
Diapsida) from the Late Triassic of northern Italy. - Rivista
Italiana di Paleontologia e Stratigrafia 112:77-94. - S.
Renesto & G. Binelli - 2006.
- The taxonomy and paleobiology of the Late Triassic
(Carnian-Norian: Adamanian-Apachean) drepanosaurs (Diapsida:
Archosauromorpha: Drepanosauromorpha). - New Mexico Museum of
Natural History and Science Bulletin 46: 1–81. - S.
Renesto & G. Binelli - 2010.
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