Nature Communications (Feb 2017)

Live birth in an archosauromorph reptile

  • Jun Liu,
  • Chris L. Organ,
  • Michael J. Benton,
  • Matthew C. Brandley,
  • Jonathan C. Aitchison

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1038/ncomms14445
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 8, no. 1
pp. 1 – 8

Abstract

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Although live birth evolved repeatedly in other clades, it has not been found in archosauromorphs, the group including modern birds and crocodilians. Here, the authors describe a fossilized pregnantDinocephalosaurusfrom ∼245 million years ago, providing evidence of live birth in archosauromorphs.