Cryptovaranoides

Cryptovaranoides ("hidden lizard-like animal") is an extinct genus of lizard from the Late Triassic of England. It contains a single species, Cryptovaranoides microlanius.[1]

Cryptovaranoides
Temporal range: Late Triassic (Rhaetian)
Reconstruction of skull (top) and life restoration (bottom)
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Anguimorpha
Genus: †Cryptovaranoides
Whiteside, Chambi-Trowell & Benton, 2022
Species
  • C. microlanius Whiteside, Chambi-Trowell & Benton, 2022

It is represented by a holotype partial skeleton as well as referred isolated bones from Rhaetian-aged fissure fill-deposits in Cromhall Quarry, near Tortworth, Gloucestershire preserved alongside the common fossil rhynchocephalian Clevosaurus. The type specimen had been collected in 1953, but was only described as a distinct taxon in 2022. Several traits such as braincase, neck vertebrae, skull architecture, and teeth arrangement support Cryptovaranoides' classification as a squamate.[2][3]

Cryptovaranoides marks the earliest known occurrence of a crown group squamate, with previous fossils known only as early as the Middle Jurassic; the discovery of Cryptovaranoides pushes back the estimated origin of modern squamates by 35 million years. A phylogenetic analysis placed Cryptovaranoides within the Anguimorpha as sister to the Neoanguimorpha (containing modern helodermatids, anguids, and knob-scaled lizards), supporting a much more ancient estimate for the radiation of modern squamate lineages than previously assumed.[1]

References
  1. Whiteside, David I.; Chambi-Trowell, Sofía A. V.; Benton, Michael J. (2022-12-02). "A Triassic crown squamate". Science Advances. 8 (48): eabq8274. doi:10.1126/sciadv.abq8274. ISSN 2375-2548.
  2. Bristol, University of. "December: Lizard discovery | News and features | University of Bristol". www.bristol.ac.uk. Retrieved 2022-12-24.
  3. "Gloucestershire fossil suggests modern lizards could have Triassic origins". www.nhm.ac.uk. Retrieved 2022-12-24.
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