A new extinct species of alligator lizard (Squamata: Elgaria) and an expanded perspective on the osteology and phylogeny of Gerrhonotinae.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Alligator lizards (Gerrhonotinae) are a well-known group of extant North American lizard. Although many fossils were previously referred to Gerrhonotinae, most of those fossils are isolated and fragmentary cranial elements that could not be placed in a precise phylogenetic context, and only a handful of known fossils are articulated skulls. The fossil record has provided limited information on the biogeography and phylogeny of Gerrhonotinae.

Results

We redescribe a nearly complete articulated fossil skull from the Pliocene sediments of the Anza-Borrego Desert in southern California, and refer the specimen to the alligator lizard genus Elgaria. The fossil is a representative of a newly described species, Elgaria peludoverde. We created a morphological matrix to ass

SUBMITTER: Scarpetta SG 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8482661 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature