A Palaeogene stem crotaphytid (Aciprion formosum) and the phylogenetic affinities of early fossil pleurodontan iguanians.

ABSTRACT: Pleurodonta is an ancient, diverse clade of iguanian lizard distributed primarily in the Western Hemisphere. Although the clade is a frequent subject of systematic research, phylogenetic resolution among the major pleurodontan clades is elusive. That uncertainty has complicated the interpretations of many fossil pleurodontans. I describe a fossil skull of a pleurodontan lizard from the Palaeogene of Wyoming that was previously allocated to the puzzling taxon Aciprion formosum, and provide an updated morphological matrix for iguanian lizards. Phylogenetic analyses using Bayesian inference demonstrate that the fossil skull is the oldest and first definitive stem member of Crotaphytidae (collared and leopard lizards), establishing the presence of that clade in North America during the

SUBMITTER: Scarpetta SG 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10776235 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature