Reptilie Plan: Reptilie Rise of the reptiles Permian reptiles Reptilie

Cenozoic reptiles[edit]

Varanus priscus was a giant carnivorous goanna lizard, perhaps as long as 7 metres and weighing up to 1940 kilograms^[58]

Skeleton of Champsosaurus, a choristodere, the latest surviving order of extinct reptiles. The last known choristoderes are known from the Miocene, around 11.3 million years ago
The close of the Cretaceous period saw the demise of the Mesozoic era reptilian megafauna (see the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event, also known as K-T extinction event). Of the large marine reptiles, only sea turtles were left; and of the non-marine large reptiles, only the semi-aquatic crocodiles and broadly similar choristoderes survived the extinction, with last members of the latter, the lizard-like Lazarussuchus, becoming extinct in the Miocene.^[59] Of the great host of dinosaurs dominating the Mesozoic, only the small beaked birds survived. This dramatic extinction pattern at the end of the Mesozoic led into the Cenozoic. Mammals and birds filled the empty niches left behind by the reptilian megafauna and, while reptile diversification slowed, bird and mammal diversification took an exponential turn.^[43] However, reptiles were still important components of the megafauna, particularly in the form of large and giant tortoises.^[60][61]
After the extinction of most archosaur and marine reptile lines by the end of the Cretaceous, reptile diversification continued throughout the Cenozoic. Squamates took a massive hit during the K–Pg event, only recovering ten million years after it,^[62] but they underwent a great radiation event once they recovered, and today squamates make up the majority of living reptiles (> 95%).^[63][64] Approximately 10,000 extant species of traditional reptiles are known, with birds adding about 10,000 more, almost twice the number of mammals, represented by about 5,700 living species (excluding domesticated species).^[65]