Milleretta Temporal range: Changhsingian, 252.5–251 Ma |
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life restoration of Milleretta | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Reptilia |
Clade: | †Parareptilia |
Order: | †Millerosauria |
Family: | †Millerettidae |
Genus: |
†Milleretta Broom, 1948 |
Type species | |
†Milleretta rubidgei (Broom, 1938 [originally Millerina]) |
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Synonyms | |
Genus-level: Species-level: |
Genus-level:
Millerettoides Broom, 1948
Millerettops Broom, 1948
Species-level:
Millerettoides platyceps Broom, 1948
Millerettops kitchingi Broom, 1948
Millerina rubidgei Broom, 1938 [preoccupied by an arthropod Malloch, 1925
Milleretta is an extinct genus of millerettid parareptile from the Late Permian of South Africa. Fossils have been found at the Balfour Formation. ’’Milleretta'’ is a moderately sized, lizard-like animal, about 60 centimetres (24 in) in length. It was probably insectivorous. Its only known species is ‘’Milleretta rubidgei’’, making Milleretta a monospecific genus. It is considered the leased derived compared to Milleropsis and Millerosaurus. Huge gaps are at their maximum between the period of ‘’Milleretta’’ as ghost lineages show up. Something attributed to this family is the creation of the lateral temporal opening, which adult Milleretta managed to close completely. It was named by Robert Broom in 1938 and its name means ‘’Miller’s little one’’, as the first ’’Mileretta’’ was a juvenile specimen. The sister taxon is Eunotosaurus. Both taxon were discovered at the Balfour Formation. This suggests that Eunotosaurus lived around the same time and even before ‘’Milleretta’’. As of now, they are considered possibly the oldest in their lineage in the world.(
The cladogram below displays the phylogenetic position of the Milleretta, from Ruta et al., 2011.