Wikipedia mirror

2026 in reptile paleontology

Fossil reptile research published in 2026 includes peer-reviewed publications on discoveries related to reptile paleontology, as well as the description of new taxa.


Lepidosauromorphs

Squamates

Name Novelty Status Authors Age Type locality Country Notes Images

Xenodontolacerta[1]

Gen. et sp. nov

Valid

Jiang et al.

Late Cretaceous (Coniacian–Campanian)

Hekou Formation

China

A polyglyphanodontian. The type species is X. fangi

Squamate research

  • Ebel, Melville & Keogh (2026) reconstruct the evolutionary history of squamate osteoderms on the basis of data from extant and extinct reptiles, reporting evidence of 13 independent acquisitions of osteoderms, the majority of which happened in the Late Jurassic and Early Cretaceous.[2]
  • Redescription and a study on the affinities of Prognathodon waiparaensis is published by Young et al. (2026).[3]
  • Comans, Tobin & Totten (2026) reconstruct the thermoregulatory modes of Platecarpus and Tylosaurus from the Smoky Hill Chalk Member of the Niobrara Formation (Kansas, United States) on the basis stable oxygen isotope composition of tooth enamel, interpreted as consistent with endothermy.[4]
  • Liaw et al. (2026) report the discovery of a vertebra of a large-bodied python from the Pleistocene strata of the Chiting Formation (Taiwan).[5]
  • Jansen et al. (2026) report the discovery of a new assemblage of squamate fossils from the Campanian strata of the Villeveyrac-Mèze basin (France), including the oldest European members of Pan-Shinisaurus, Madtsoiidae, Monstersauria and Iguanomorpha reported to date, and possibly the oldest known anguid worldwide.[6]

Other lepidosauromorphs

Name Novelty Status Authors Age Type locality Country Notes Images

Other lepidosauromorph research

  • Haridy et al. (2026) describe new fossil material of Eilenodon robustus from the strata of the Morrison Formation from Utah and Wyoming (United States), and provide the first three-dimensional reconstructions of the skull anatomy of this taxon and the first detailed study of its tooth row histology.[7]

Archosauromorphs

Archosaurs

Main article: 2026 in archosaur paleontology

Other archosauromorphs

Name Novelty Status Authors Age Type locality Country Notes Images

Other archosauromorph research

Turtles

Name Novelty Status Authors Age Type locality Country Notes Images

Sternotherus pugnatus[8]

Sp. nov

Valid

Bourque

Miocene

United States
( Florida)

A species of Sternotherus.

Turtle research

  • Pérez-García et al. (2026) revise Neochelys arribasi, and support its recognition as a valid species.[9]
  • Pochat-Cottilloux et al. (2026) report the first discovery of trionychid fossil material (including Trionyx cf. vindobonensis) from the Miocene strata of Poland, interpreted as indicative of environmental conditions suitable for animals requiring high temperatures between the Middle Miocene Climatic Optimum and Late Miocene in the studied area.[10]
  • Footprint traces interpreted as likely produced by a stampede of sea turtles panicked by an earthquake are reported from the Campanian strata from Monte Cònero (Italy) by Sandroni et al. (2026).[11]

Other reptiles

This section includes reptiles of uncertain or debated placement (choristoderes and the marine reptile clades Ichthyosauromorpha and Sauropterygia) in addition to stem group reptiles.

Choristoderes

Choristodere research

  • Matsumoto, Manabe & Evans (2026) describe new fossil material of members of Choristodera from the Lower Cretaceous Okurodani Formation (Japan), expanding known diversity of members of the group from the studied formation.[12]

Ichthyosauromorphs

Name Novelty Status Authors Age Type locality Country Notes Images

Ichthyosauromorph research

  • Probable ophthalmosaurid specimen representing the first partially articulated ichthyosaur skeleton reported from the insular Caribbean is described from the Tithonian strata of the Guasasa Formation (Cuba) by Iturralde-Vinent et al. (2026).[13]
  • Martinez-Motta et al. (2026) report evidence of preservation of integumentary tissues in a brachypterygiid ichthyosaur specimen from the Paja Formation (Colombia).[14]

Sauropterygians

Name Novelty Status Authors Age Type locality Country Notes Images
Nothosaurus fortihumeralis[15] Sp. nov. Li et al. Middle Triassic (Anisian) Guanling Formation China A nothosaurid

Pahasapasaurus gillettei[16]

Sp. nov.

In press

Schmeisser McKean

Late Cretaceous (Turonian)

Tropic Shale

United States ( Utah)

A polycotylid plesiosaur; a species of Pahasapasaurus. Announced in 2025, the final article version will be published in 2026.

Sauropterygian research

  • Redescription of the anatomy and a study on the affinities of Lusonectes sauvagei is published by Sachs & Madzia (2026).[17]
  • García-Guerrero et al. (2026) describe a cervical vertebra of a member of the subfamily Brachaucheninae from the Valanginian strata of the Rosablanca Formation (Colombia), representing the oldest fossil material of a large pliosaurid from the Lower Cretaceous strata in northern South America reported to date.[18]
  • Probable elasmosaurid vertebra, representing the first plesiosaur record from Algeria, is described from the Coniacian strata of the Essen Formation in the Tébessa Mountains by Nadir Naimi et al. (2026).[19]
  • Evidence of a healing fracture and periostitis is reported in elasmosaurid specimens from the Maastrichtian Snow Hill Island Formation (Antarctica) and Jagüel Formation (Argentina) by Mitidieri et al. (2026).[20]

Stem group reptiles

Name Novelty Status Authors Age Type locality Country Notes Images

Sauropia[21]

Gen. et sp. nov

Valid

Müller et al.

Middle Triassic (Ladinian)

Pinheiros-Chiniquá Sequence of the Santa Maria Supersequence

Brazil

A member or relative of the family Procolophonidae. The type species is S. macrorhinus.

Scyllacerta[22] Gen. et sp. nov Valid Jenkins et al. Late Permian Teekloof Formation (Endothiodon Assemblage Zone) South Africa A younginid. The type species is S. creanae.

Stem group reptile research

  • Marchetti et al. (2026) report the discovery of resting trace with a probable bolosaurian skin impression from the Permian (Asselian) Goldlauter Formation (Germany), including a probable cloacal vent impression and the oldest definite impression of epidermal scales of a reptile reported to date, and name a new ichnotaxon Cabarzichnus pulchrus.[23]
  • D'Ávila Burgardt et al. (2026) report the discovery of a new procolophonid lower jaw from the Lower Triassic Sanga do Cabral Formation (Brazil), differing from known procolophonid taxa from the site in dental morphology.[24]

Reptiles in general

References

  1. ^ Jiang, Juan; Dong, Li-Ping; Xu, Xing; Bi, Alexander; Evans, Susan (2026-02-04). "A new polyglyphanodontian lizard from the Upper Cretaceous of southern China implies a complex evolutionary history of the clade". Royal Society Open Science. 13 (2). doi:10.1098/rsos.252253. ISSN 2054-5703.
  2. ^ Ebel, R.; Melville, J.; Keogh, J. S. (2026). "Lizards in chain mail: reconstructing the enigmatic past of dermal armour in squamate reptiles". Biological Journal of the Linnean Society. 147 (1) blaf129. doi:10.1093/biolinnean/blaf129.
  3. ^ Young, G.; Mannering, A.; Fraser, M.; Scofield, P. (2026). "Redescription of Prognathodon waiparaensis and comments on its phylogenetic position". Alcheringa: An Australasian Journal of Palaeontology. doi:10.1080/03115518.2025.2607629.
  4. ^ Comans, C. M.; Tobin, T. S.; Totten, R. L. (2026). "Evidence for endothermy from tooth enamel(oid) oxygen isotopes in marine predators of the Late Cretaceous Western Interior Seaway, USA". Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 113578. doi:10.1016/j.palaeo.2026.113578.
  5. ^ Liaw, Y.-L.; Cho, Y.-Y.; Sun, C.-H.; Biswas, D. S.; Tsai, C.-H. (2026). "An unexpected snake fossil (Pythonidae, Python) from Taiwan". Historical Biology: An International Journal of Paleobiology. doi:10.1080/08912963.2025.2610741.
  6. ^ Jansen, O.; Garcia, G.; Otero, O.; Augé, M.; Gomez, B.; Valentin, X. (2026). "Freshwater amphibians and squamates from Villeveyrac (lower Campanian; Hérault, France): palaeodiversity, palaeoenvironment and implications for the Late Cretaceous palaeobiogeography of the European herpetofauna". Papers in Palaeontogy. 12 (1) e70055. doi:10.1002/spp2.70055.
  7. ^ Haridy, Y.; Frederickson, J. A.; Peterson, J.; Miller, J.; Davis, B.; Curtice, B.; Hunter, R.; Cifelli, R. (2026). "New material of the Late Jurassic sphenodontid Eilenodon robustus reveals transitionary adaptations to herbivory". New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science Bulletin. 102: 171–184.
  8. ^ Bourque, J. R. (2026). "A small flat-shelled musk turtle from the Late Miocene of Florida and new Pleistocene records of Sternotherus (Kinosternidae)". Historical Biology: An International Journal of Paleobiology. doi:10.1080/08912963.2025.2602686.
  9. ^ Pérez-García, A.; Guerrero, A.; Martín de Jesús, S.; Ortega, F. (2026). "Evaluation of the Validity of the Spanish Eocene Pleurodiran Turtle 'Duerochelys arribasi': The Youngest Freshwater Member of Erymnochelyinae (Podocnemididae) in Europe". Diversity. 18 (1) 51. doi:10.3390/d18010051.
  10. ^ Pochat-Cottilloux, Y.; López-Torres, S.; Chroust, M.; Georgalis, G. L.; Górka, M.; Tałanda, M. (2026). "First occurrences of Trionychidae (Testudines, Cryptodira) from the Miocene of Poland: Detailed cranial anatomy and biogeographic implications". Journal of Anatomy. doi:10.1111/joa.70095.
  11. ^ Sandroni, P.; Church, N. S.; Coccioni, R.; Frontalini, F.; Mainiero, M.; Montanari, A. (February 2026). "Reptile footprints on a pelagic seafloor as a vestige of a synsedimentary seismic event in the lower Campanian Scaglia Rossa Basin of the Umbria-Marche Apennines (Italy)". Cretaceous Research. 179 106268. doi:10.1016/j.cretres.2025.106268.
  12. ^ Matsumoto, R.; Manabe, M.; Evans, S. E. (May 2026). "Cranial elements of Shokawa ikoi, and new records of choristoderes from the Lower Cretaceous Okurodani Formation, Tetori Group, Japan". Cretaceous Research. 181 106283. doi:10.1016/j.cretres.2025.106283.
  13. ^ Iturralde-Vinent, M.; Campos, L.; Pszczółkowski, A.; Ceballos-Izquierdo, Y.; Viñola-Lopez, L. W. (2026). "A partial ichthyosaur (?Ophthalmosauridae) skeleton from the Tithonian (Upper Jurassic) of western Cuba". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology e2609717. doi:10.1080/02724634.2025.2609717.
  14. ^ Martinez-Motta, M. F.; Cortés, D.; Maxwell, E. E.; Noè, L. F.; Alfonso-Rojas, A.; Parra-Ruge, F. H.; Cadena, E.-A. (2026). "Soft-tissue preservation in an ichthyosaur from the Lower Cretaceous (Barremian - Aptian) of Colombia". Cretaceous Research 106305. doi:10.1016/j.cretres.2025.106305.
  15. ^ Li, Qiang; Hu, Yi-Wei; Shen, Yuefeng; Sander, P Martin; Liu, Jun (2026-01-01). "A new large Nothosaurus (Reptilia: Eosauropterygia) from the Middle Triassic of South China and the phylogeny of Eosauropterygia". Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 206 (1). doi:10.1093/zoolinnean/zlaf179. ISSN 0024-4082.
  16. ^ Schmeisser McKean, Rebecca L. (2026). "A new species of Pahasapasaurus (Plesiosauria: Polycotylidae) from the Upper Cretaceous Tropic Shale (lower Turonian) of southern Utah, U.S.A.". Cretaceous Research (in press) 106269. doi:10.1016/j.cretres.2025.106269.
  17. ^ Sachs, S.; Madzia, D. (2026). "The osteology, taxonomy, and phylogenetic affinities of the Early Jurassic plesiosaur Lusonectes sauvagei". PeerJ. 14 e20611. doi:10.7717/peerj.20611. PMC 12875220.
  18. ^ García-Guerrero, J.; Parra Ruge, F.; Prieto, G. A.; Cadena, E.-A. (February 2026). "Evidence of large pliosaurids in the Late Valanginian of Colombia". Cretaceous Research. 178 106235. doi:10.1016/j.cretres.2025.106235.
  19. ^ Nadir Naimi, M.; Salmi-Laouar, S.; O'Gorman, J. P.; Nemouchi, S.; Degaichia, A. (2026). "First plesiosaurian (Diapsida; Sauropterygia) remains from Algeria". Historical Biology: An International Journal of Paleobiology. doi:10.1080/08912963.2026.2612987.
  20. ^ Mitidieri, M.; Talevi, M.; Herrera, Y.; Rothschild, B.; Fernández, M. S. (January 2026). "From the inside: pathologies from a histological perspective of two elasmosaurids from the Upper Cretaceous of Antarctica and Argentina". Cretaceous Research. 177 106208. doi:10.1016/j.cretres.2025.106208.
  21. ^ Müller, R. T.; Roberto-da-Silva, L.; Aurélio, P. L. P.; Kerber, L. (2026). "The smallest tetrapod from the Middle Triassic of South America: a new procolophonoid parareptile from the Ladinian of Southern Brazil". Scientific Reports. 16 866. doi:10.1038/s41598-026-35114-3. PMC 12852135. PMID 41606015.
  22. ^ Jenkins, Xavier A.; Buffa, Valentin; Marchant, Cy J.; Ford, David P.; Browning, Claire; Fernandez, Vincent; Dollman, Kathleen; Botha, Jennifer; Choiniere, Jonah N.; Benson, Roger B. J.; Peecook, Brandon R. (2026-01-22). "The origin of the tympanic fossa in reptiles revealed by a late Permian neodiapsid". Palaeontology. 69 (1) e70041. doi:10.1111/pala.70041. ISSN 0031-0239.
  23. ^ Marchetti, L.; Logghe, A.; Buchwitz, M.; MacDougall, M. J.; Rebillard, A.; Martens, T.; Fröbisch, J. (2026). "The earliest reptile body impressions with scaly skin". Current Biology. doi:10.1016/j.cub.2026.01.036. PMID 41687603.
  24. ^ D’Ávila Burgardt, C.; Pohlmann, K.; Machado, A. F.; Costa Santos, M. A.; Meira, J. L.; Pinheiro, F. L. (2026). "A peculiar procolophonid lower jaw from the Sanga do Cabral Formation (Lower Triassic, Brazil)". Historical Biology: An International Journal of Paleobiology. doi:10.1080/08912963.2025.2608698.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.