Abstract
Analysis of a newly discovered specimen of the Late Triassic prolacertiform reptileLangobardisaurus, along with further analyses of the postcranial skeletons of previously described specimens, suggests that a bipedal configuration without a parasagittal gait was possible during rapid locomotion, as previously suggested for the related genus,Macrocnemus, and also while standing and walking. Morphological evidence and size-related criteria are consistent with a facultative digitigrade configuration while standing erect. The elongation of the neck, a hallmark of the prolacertiforms, may have assisted these efforts, as inChlamydosaurus, an extant facultatively bipedal lizard with a convergent morphology. This hypothesis should yield new insights into the mode of life ofLangobardisaurus and other prolacertiform sister taxa.
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Renesto, S., Dalla Vecchia, F.M. & Peters, D. Morphological evidence for bipedalism in the Late Triassic prolacertiform reptileLangobardisaurus . Senckenbergiana lethaea 82, 94–106 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03043775
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03043775