| Breugnathair Temporal range: Middle Jurassic | |
|---|---|
| |
| Speculative life restoration of B. elgolensis by Mick Ellison | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryote |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Superorder: | Lepidosauria |
| Family: | †Parviraptoridae |
| Genus: | †Breugnathair Benson et. al., 2025 |
| Species: | †B. elgolensis |
| Type species | |
| †Breugnathair elgolensis Benson et. al., 2025 | |
Breugnathair is a genus of squamate from the Jurassic period of Scotland. It was described showing features of both geckos and snakes. The type and only species known so far is Breugnathair elgolensis.
Discovery and Naming[]
The holotype specimen, NMS (after the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh) G.2023.7.1, was collected in 2015 from the Kilmaluag Formation in the Isle of Skye. The generic name Breugnathair is derived from Scottish Gaelic for "false snake," in reference to its snake-like traits. The specific name "elgolensis" refers to holotype's locality being north of the village of Elgol, Scotland.[1]
Description[]
The holotype is a disarticulated specimen consisting of limb bones, ribs, pectoral girdle material, several vertebrae, and fragmentary skull and pelvic girdle material. Breugnathair can be distinguished from members of Parviraptoridae with its narrower parietals, shorter interdental ridges, and more sharply recurved tooth crowns. Benson et. al. pointed out how the prolonged growth and late skeletal maturity resembled that of monitor lizards, as well as the vomer being similar to those in snakes and the controversial reptile Oculudentavis.[1][2] The paper also suggests the low cranium with a proportionally long snout was most akin to monitor lizards, as well as mosasaurs and some geckos, such as the extant genus of legless gecko Lialis.[3]
Classification[]
Diablophis (depicted in the image) and other "stem snakes" are now classified as parviraptorids.
Due to Breugnathair's mosaic anatomy with features from several different clades of Squamata, Benson et al. concluded the new family Parviraptoridae should be formally created to include genera similar to B. elgolensis in their similarities to Toxicofera, as well as traits that are completely unique to squamates. The exact external relationships of Parviraptoridae to the rest of Squamata is still volatile, although Benson et al. conclude that Breugnathair and other parviraptorids are at least stem-squamates, as shown in their phylogenetic analysis below:[4]
| Lepidosauria |
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Paleoecology[]
The Kilmalaug Formation's stratigraphy spans for most of the Bathonian stage, during the Middle Jurassic, and Breugnathair elgolensis was found in rock layers specifically dating back to 166 million years ago.[1][5] Breugnathair would have coexisted with amphibians such as the stem group-salamander Marmorerpeton,[6] one of the oldest known aquatic turtles Eileanchelys,[7] squamates such as the closely-related Parviraptor,[8] choristoderes,[8] dinosaurs,[9][10] the pterosaur Ceoptera,[11] and several mammaliamorphs.[12][13][14][15][16]
Gallery[]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-025-09566-y
- ↑ Gauthier, J., Kearney, M., Maisano, J. A., Rieppel, O. & Behlke, A. D. B. Assembling the squamate Tree of Life: perspectives from the phenotype and the fossil record. Bull. Peabody Mus. Nat. Hist. 53, 3–308 (2012).
- ↑ https://www.jstor.org/stable/1564125?origin=crossref
- ↑ https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-025-09566-y
- ↑ https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10108804/1/PANCIROLIetal_TRE-2020-0004.R1_Proof_hi.pdf
- ↑ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9335269
- ↑ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2664364
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 Evans, S., Barrett, P., Hilton, J., Butler R.J., Jones, M.E.H., Liang, M-.M., Parrish, J.C., Rayfield, E.J., Sigogneau-Russell, D., and Underwood, C.J. 2005. The Middle Jurassic vertebrate assemblage of Skye, Scotland. 36-39. In P. Barrett and S. Evans (eds). Proceedings of the Ninth Symposium on Mesozoic Terrestrial Ecosystems and Biota. Natural History Museum, London.
- ↑ PANCIROLI E, FUNSTON GF, MAIDMENT SCR, et al. The first and most complete dinosaur skeleton from the Middle Jurassic of Scotland. Earth and Environmental Science Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. Published online 2025:1-12. doi:10.1017/S1755691024000148 https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/earth-and-environmental-science-transactions-of-royal-society-of-edinburgh/article/first-and-most-complete-dinosaur-skeleton-from-the-middle-jurassic-of-scotland/A738B17F5A78106E6B8C75D211153333
- ↑ Barrett PM. A sauropod dinosaur tooth from the Middle Jurassic of Skye, Scotland. Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh: Earth Sciences. 2006;97(1):25-29. doi:10.1017/S0263593300001383 https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/earth-and-environmental-science-transactions-of-royal-society-of-edinburgh/article/abs/sauropod-dinosaur-tooth-from-the-middle-jurassic-of-skye-scotland/38D758A81B2F9B5CA6AAD3A90A44F62A?utm_campaign=shareaholic&utm_medium=copy_link&utm_source=bookmark
- ↑ https://doi.org/10.1080%2F02724634.2023.2298741
- ↑ https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1972JGSoc.128..119W/abstract
- ↑ Evans, S., Barrett, P., Hilton, J., Butler R.J., Jones, M.E.H., Liang, M-.M., Parrish, J.C., Rayfield, E.J., Sigogneau-Russell, D., and Underwood, C.J. 2005. The Middle Jurassic vertebrate assemblage of Skye, Scotland. 36-39. In P. Barrett and S. Evans (eds). Proceedings of the Ninth Symposium on Mesozoic Terrestrial Ecosystems and Biota. Natural History Museum, London.
- ↑ https://doi.org/10.1111%2Fpala.12218
- ↑ https://doi.org/10.1080%2F02724634.2017.1351448
- ↑ https://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:6a862377-ad73-4435-9bc7-b372c59d5be1