Lesson plan
Saurillus
Saurillus is an extinct genus of paramacellodid lizard from the Late Jurassic or Early Cretaceous of Europe. It was first named by British palaeontologist Richard Owen in 1854 for a lower jaw found in the Purbeck Group of the Isle of Purbeck, but its only definitive specimen is now lost. Tentative material from the Alcobaça Formation of Portugal, including teeth and a jaw, has also been assigned. Numerous additional specimens have been referred to Saurillus, but all of this material has been removed to Pseudosaurillus. General similarities led Richard Estes to consider Saurillus a member of the extinct lizard family Paramacellodidae.
Article summary
Saurillus is an extinct genus of paramacellodid lizard from the Late Jurassic or Early Cretaceous of Europe. It was first named by British palaeontologist Richard Owen in 1854 for a lower jaw found in the Purbeck Group of the Isle of Purbeck, but its only definitive specimen is now lost. Tentative material from the Alcobaça Formation of Portugal, including teeth and a jaw, has also been assigned. Numerous additional specimens have been referred to Saurillus, but all of this material has been removed to Pseudosaurillus. General similarities led Richard Estes to consider Saurillus a member of the extinct lizard family Paramacellodidae.
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Discussion questions
- Summarise the article in your own words. Which single claim would you verify first, and why?
- Which claim in this article is most likely to be revised as the sources update? How would you check its current status?
- If two sources disagreed about one of these facts, what would you need in order to trust one over the other?
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