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Late Jurassic lizards from Solnhofen, Germany, include some of the oldest known articulated lizard specimens, sometimes including soft tissue preservation. These specimens are thus very important to our understanding of early squamate morphology and taxonomy, and also provide valuable information on squamate phylogeny. Eichstaettisaurus schroederi and Ardeosaurus digitatellus are two of the best-preserved species from that locality, the former being represented by one of the most complete lizard specimen known anywhere in the world from the Jurassic. Despite their relevance to broad questions in squamate evolution, their morphology has never been described in detail, and their systematic placement has been under debate for decades. Here, we provide the first detailed morphological description, species-level phylogeny, and functional morphological evaluation of E. schroederi and A. digitatellus. We corroborate their initial placement as geckoes (stem gekkotans, more specifically), and illustrate a number of climbing adaptations that indicate the early evolution of scansoriality in gekkonomorph lizards. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Palaeontinidae (Insecta: Cicadomorpha) from the Upper Jurassic Solnhofen Limestone of Bavaria are revised. The diagnostic characters for three monotypic genera Eocicada Oppenheim, 1888, Prolystra Oppenheim, 1888 and Archipsyche Handlirsch, 1906 are reassessed based on newly discovered material. Beloptesis gigantea (Weyenbergh, 1874), B. oppenheimi Handlirsch, 1906, Limacodites mesozoicus Handlirsch, 1906, and Protopsyche braueri Handlirsch, 1906 are considered to be junior synonyms of Prolystra lithographica Oppenheim, 1888. Eocicada lameerei Handlirsch, 1908 is a junior synonym of E. microcephala Oppenheim, 1888. A key to the species of Solnhofen Palaeontinidae is presented. Solnhofen Palaeontinidae and most Cretaceous Palaeontinidae most probably form a monophyletic group based on the following characters: costal area narrow, vein RA branching from stem R basally, vein ScP not fused with vein RA, clavus much reduced and hindwing smaller. Furthermore, Solnhofen Palaeontinidae are probably basal to Cretaceous Palaeontinidae by the mesonotum lacking distinct longitudinal carinae. A fast succession from early to more derived Palaeontinidae took place during Late Jurassic times. Early Palaeontinidae declined sharply in the Late Jurassic, probably owing to the rise of newly evolved insectivorous animals like early birds and mammals. Late Palaeontinidae with better flight ability survived and became a dominant insect group during latest Jurassic times. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]