Liushusaurus acanthocaudata (Evans and Wang 2010) Early Cretaceous, ~10 cm in length, was described from eight specimens and was originally and correctly nested at the base of the Scleroglossa. Derived from a sister to Scandensia and Euposaurus, Liushusaurus phylogenetically preceded Macrocephalosaurus and Eolacerta. Calanguban (see below) is a sister taxon.

Overall larger and distinct from Scandensia, the skull of Liushusaurus was lower with a smaller orbit. The naris is elongate and angled lower than 30 degrees. No quadratojugal process appears on the jugal. The squamosals is a slender strip. The torso was relatively longer. The tail remained short.

The scapulocoracoid was larger and fenestrated. The hand and foot were similar in size, thus the hand was larger and more robust, and the foot was much smaller with shorter toes.

Calanguban alamoi (Simoes, Caldwell and Kellner 2014, Early Cretaceous) was originally considered the oldest scincomorph, but in the large reptile tree it nests with Liushusaurus at the base of the Scleroglossa. Due to the large size of its skull and orbit, this may be an immature specimen. The pectoral and pelvic girdles are gracile.

Evans SE and Wang Y 2010. A new lizard (Reptilia: Squamata) with exquisite preservation of soft tissue from the Lower Cretaceous of Inner Mongolia, China.

Simoes TR, Caldwell MW and Kellner AWA 2014. A new Early Cretaceous lizard species from Brazil, and the phylogenetic postion of the oldest known South American squamates. Journal of Systematic Palaeontology. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14772019.2014.947342

wiki/Liushusaurus