Explore this animal in Size of Extinct Animals ↗
561 / Mesozoic
Drepanosaurus
Drepanosaurus unguicaudatus
A sickle-shaped hand claw, grasping feet and hooked tail tip formed a highly arboreal reptile.
View original image · 1600 × 1067- Time range
- About 218–210 million years ago
- Final stage
- Late Triassic
- Geographic range
- River woodland · Italy and North America
01 / DEFINITION & ECOLOGY
What was Drepanosaurus?
Drepanosaurus (Drepanosaurus unguicaudatus) was an extinct organism known from About 218–210 million years ago, with a range in River woodland · Italy and North America.
Life and ecology
It clung to trunks, opened decaying wood for insects and stabilized itself with the curling tail.
02 / DISAPPEARANCE
Why did Drepanosaurus disappear?
Its record, about 218–210 million years old, predates the end-Triassic crisis. Drepanosauromorphs as a group have no Jurassic record, but the cause for this genus is not established.
03 / EVIDENCE
How do scientists know about Drepanosaurus?
Associated skeletons and three-dimensional forelimbs preserve unusual joints; climbing posture remains functional inference.
04 / SOURCES & FURTHER READING
Check the source record
Use the scientific name to compare taxonomy, occurrence records and the fossil record. Database coverage and classifications may differ.
05 / REVISION HISTORY
How has this record changed?
- Removed an extinction cause that credited a mass extinction occurring after this species' last dated record.
- Verified authoritative entity sources and added three responsive reconstruction sizes.
- Initial bilingual species record published.
06 / CORRECTIONS & ADDITIONS