Avicephala

Avicephala Temporal range: Lopingian to Late Triassic 259–201.3 Ma PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N
Skeleton of the drepanosaur Drepanosaurus unguicaudatus
Skeleton of the weigeltisaurid Weigeltisaurus jaekeli
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Clade:	Neodiapsida
Clade:	†Avicephala Senter, 2004
Included subgroups
†Drepanosauromorpha †Weigeltisauridae †Longisquama?

Avicephala ("bird heads") is a potentially polyphyletic grouping of extinct diapsid reptiles that lived during the Late Permian and Triassic periods characterised by superficially bird-like skulls and arboreal lifestyles. As a clade, Avicephala is defined as including the gliding weigeltisaurids and the arboreal drepanosaurs to the exclusion of other major diapsid groups. This relationship is not recovered in the majority of phylogenetic analyses of early diapsids and so Avicephala is typically regarded as an artificial or unnatural grouping. However, the clade was recovered again in 2021 following a redescription of Weigeltisaurus, raising the possibility that the clade may be valid after all, although subsequent analyses have not supported this result.