A study on the histology and growth histories of the humeri of the specimens of Acanthostega recovered from the mass-death deposit of Stensiö Bjerg is published by Sanchez et al., who argue that even the largest individuals from this deposit are juveniles.
Fossils of a tetrapod resembling Ichthyostega and a probable whatcheeriid-grade tetrapod are described from two Devonian localities from Belgium by Olive et al..
A study on the functional significance of the interpterygoid vacuities in temnospondyls is published by Lautenschlager, Witzmann & Werneburg.
A study on the stress distribution in the skulls of Edingerella madagascariensis and Stanocephalosaurus birdi during the bite, with implications for establishing the ecological niches occupied by these temnospondyls, is published by Fortuny et al..
A study on the anatomy, ecological niche and life history of members the population of Eocyclotosaurus appetolatus known from the Tecolotito bonebed is published by Rinehart & Lucas.
A study on the morphology of the skull and braincase of Brachydectes newberryi is published by Pardo & Anderson.
A study on the locomotor capabilities of Triadobatrachus massinoti is published by Lires, Soto & Gómez.
A revised description of the holotype of Triadobatrachus massinoti based on X-ray micro-tomography data is published by Ascarrunz et al..
The first unambiguous frog fossil from the Jurassic of Asia is described from the Middle Jurassic Itat Formation by Skutschas, Martin & Krasnolutskii.
New taxa
Temnospondyls
Lissamphibians
Others
Lepidosaurs
Lizards
Research
Twelve specimens of lizards are described from the Cretaceous amber from Myanmar by Daza et al. ; however, the supposed stem-chamaeleonid is subsequently reinterpreted as an albanerpetontid amphibian by Matsumoto & Evans.
A study of almost 30 specimens of Polyglyphanodon sternbergi, including almost complete skeletons, is published by Simões et al., who report the discovery of previously unrecognized ontogenetic series, sexual dimorphism and a complete lower temporal bar in the skull of members of this species.
New anatomical data on the Late Cretaceous lizard Slavoia darevskii is published by Tałanda, who interprets it as a stem-amphisbaenian.
A study on the skull anatomy of the Eocene amphisbaenian Spathorhynchus fossorium is published by Müller, Hipsley & Maisano.
A study on mosasaur tooth implantation and its phylogenetic implications is published by Liu et al..
A redescription of the mosasaur Hainosaurus bernardi Dollo is published by Jimenez-Huidobro & Caldwell, who transfer this species to the genus Tylosaurus and synonymize genera Tylosaurus and Hainosaurus.
A revision of the species assigned to the mosasaur genus Tylosaurus is published by Jiménez-Huidobro, Simões & Caldwell ; their conclusion that T. kansasensis is a junior synonym of T. nepaeolicus is subsequently rejected by Stewart & Mallon.
Early Miocenechamaeleonid fossils, including a specimen tentatively attributed to the species Chamaeleo cf. andrusovi Čerňanský, previously known only from the early Miocene of the Czech Republic, are described from the Aliveri locality by Georgalis, Villa & Delfino.
Lizard fossils which might be the oldest known chameleon fossils from India are described from the Miocene Nagri Formation by Sankhyan & Čerňanský.
New taxa
Snakes
Research
Lee et al. examine the limb anatomy of Tetrapodophis amplectus, which according to the authors is suggestive of aquatic habits.
A redescription of the Cenomanian snake Simoliophis rochebrunei on the basis of new fossil material from France is published by Rage, Vullo & Néraudeau.
Smith & Scanferla describe a juvenile specimen of Palaeopython fischeri from the Eocene Messel pit with preserved stomach contents, including a specimen of the stem-basilisk species Geiseltaliellus maarius, which in turn preserves an unidentified insect in its stomach.
McNamara et al. describe pigment cells responsible for coloration and patterning preserved in a fossil skin of a colubrid snake from the Late Miocene Libros Lagerstätte.
New fossil material of the viperidLaophis crotaloides is described from Greece by Georgalis et al..
New taxa
Ichthyosauromorphs
Research
A study of taxonomic richness, disparity and evolutionary rates of ichthyosaurs throughout the Cretaceous period is published by Fischer et al..
A restudy of "Platypterygius" campylodon is published by Fischer, who transfers this species to the genus Pervushovisaurus.
A study of the histology and microanatomy of the humeri of members of the genus Nothosaurus is published by Klein et al..
A reassessment of fossils attributed to the genus Polyptychodon is published by Madzia, who considers the type species of this genus, P. interruptus, to be nomen dubium, and the genus Polyptychodon to be a wastebasket taxon.
A redescription of the holotype specimen of Brancasaurus brancai and a study on the phylogenetic relationships of the species is published by Sachs, Hornung & Kear, who consider the species Gronausaurus wegneri to be a junior synonym of B. brancai.
A study on the morphological diversity of the skulls of the fossil and recent turtles through time is published by Foth & Joyce.
A study of the bone shell histology of Condorchelys antiqua and its implications for the lifestyle of the species is published by Cerda, Sterli & Scheyer.
A study of the bone histology of shell elements of the Late Cretaceous—Paleocene chelidYaminuechelys is published by Jannello, Cerda & de la Fuente.
A review of the fossil record, taxonomy and diagnostic features of the fossil species belonging to the genus Chelus is published by Ferreira et al..
An emended diagnosis of Testudo catalaunica and a study of phylogeny of extinct members of the genus Testudo is published by Luján et al..
Giant tortoise fossils collected from the late Miocene-early Pliocene Mehrten Formation are identified as belonging to members of the species Hesperotestudo orthopygia by Biewer et al..
New taxa
Archosauriformes
Other reptiles
Research
A skull of a juvenile specimen of Delorhynchus cifellii is described from the Richards Spur locality by Haridy et al..
A revision of the systematics of the Chinese pareiasaurs is published by Benton.
A study of evolution of body size of the carnivorous and herbivorous members of Captorhinidae is published by Brocklehurst.
Two new specimens of Atopodentatus unicus are described by Chun et al., providing new information on the skull anatomy of this species and indicating that its rostrum, rather than being downturned as originally assumed, developed a hammerhead-like shape.
Description of new material of Hemilopas mentzeli from the Middle Triassic of Silesia and a study of the phylogenetic relationships of the species is published by Surmik.
Description of the anatomy of partially articulated forelimbs and isolated forelimb bones of Drepanosaurus recovered from the Late Triassic Hayden Quarry of New Mexico, USA is published by Pritchard et al..
A study on the maximum body size and distribution of the reptile species known to have gone extinct during the last 50,000 years, as well as the role played by these factors in recent reptile extinction events, is published by Slavenko et al..
New taxa
Synapsids
Non-mammalian synapsids
Research
A study on the respiratory system and paleobiology of caseids is published by Lambertz et al., who argue that at least some caseids might have been predominantly aquatic and that a homologue of the mammalian diaphragm might have been present in caseids.
A redescription of the sphenacodontian taxa Palaeohatteria and Pantelosaurus is published by Spindler, who assigns both these taxa to the clade Palaeohatteriidae, but considers it likely that they represent distinct valid taxa.
A study on the paleoneurology of non-mammaliaform therapsids is published by Benoit, Manger & Rubidge, who argue that whiskers, body hair coverage and mammary glands might have been present in some non-mammaliaform therapsids.
Benoit & Jasinoski present a digital reconstruction of the lost holotype specimen of the cynodont species Scalopocynodon gracilis.
A study on the microstructure of the postcanine teeth of the trirachodontid cynodont Cricodon metabolus is published by Hendrickx, Abdala & Choiniere.
A description of a new specimen of Massetognathus ochagaviae collected at the Middle Triassic DinodontosaurusAssemblage Zone is published by Pavanatto et al..
A study comparing the growth patterns of the tritylodontid cynodont Oligokyphus and the basalmammaliaformMorganucodon is published by O’Meara & Asher.
Hair-like structures found in a coprolite recovered from the Late Permian Vyazniki site, which might represent the oldest evidence of hair in the stem group of mammals, are described by Bajdek et al..
New fossils of Ernietta plateauensis are described from the Ediacaran site in southern Namibia by Elliott et al..
Embryo-like fossils are described from the Ediacaran Doushantuo Formation by Yin et al., who argue that at least some of these fossils represent crown-animal embryos.
New fossil material of Oesia disjuncta is described by Nanglu et al., who interpret this species as a primitive acorn worm that inhabited the tubes previously identified as the alga Margaretia.
A redescription of Helenodora inopinata and a study of its phylogenetic relationships is published by Murdock, Gabbott & Purnell.
Description of the anatomy of the fossil velvet wormCretoperipatus burmiticus and a study on its phylogenetic relationships is published by de Sena Oliveira et al..
A study on the anatomy of the mouth apparatus of the lobopodian Pambdelurion whittingtoni is published by Vinther et al., who show that its mouth apparatus was identical to the fossilized feeding apparatus described under the name Omnidens.
New taxa
Other organisms
Research
Probable stromatolites are described from the 3,700-Myr-old rocks from the Isua supracrustal belt by Nutman et al. ; however, Allwood et al. subsequently argue that these putative stromatolites as more likely to be structures of non-biological origin.
Exceptionally large, organic, smooth-walled, coccoidal microfossils are described from the 2.52 GaGamohaan Formation by Czaja, Beukes & Osterhout, who interpret them as fossils of sulfur-oxidizing bacteria similar to members of the modern genus Thiomargarita.
Macroscopic fossils up to 30 cm long and nearly 8 cm wide are described from the 1,56-billion-year-old Gaoyuzhuang Formation by Zhu et al., who interpret them as probable fossils of benthic multicellular eukaryotes of size that is unprecedentedly large for eukaryotes older than the Ediacaran Period.
Organic-walled microfossils with holes in the walls similar to those formed by predatory protists in the walls of their prey to consume the contents inside are described from the 780–740 million-year-old Chuar Group by Porter.
