Kuroyuriella mikikoi (Evans and Matsumoto 2015; Early Cretaceous 140mya; SBEI 1510. 1)

Elgaria coerulea (Gray 1838) is the extant alligator lizard.

Cryptolacerta hassiaca (Müller et al. 2011) Eocene, ~7 cm snout-to-vent length was orginally described as a precursor to burrowing amphisbaenians, like Bipes and Amphisbaena.

Here, derived from a sister to Shinisaurus, Cryptolacerta nested at the base of the Heloderma clade. The extant Ophisaurus (see below) is a sister.

The reconstruction of Müller et al. (2011, right above) could not be replicated. A DGS tracing (left above) produced a deeper skull with upper temporal fenestrae, an premaxillary ascending process and a lacrimal among several other differences.

Distinct from Chalcides, the skull of Cryptolacerta had a higher rostrum due to a higher maxilla, but Tupinambis and Acanthodactylus had a high maxilla. The postorbital was larger and more elongated. The posterior parietal was wider than the anterior. The premaxilla tucked under than appeared above the nasal. The jugal was gracile. The quadrate was straighter and taller.

Two reconstructions of Cryptolacerta. On the right by Müller et al. 2011 recovered a skull without upper temporal fenestrae and postfrontal bones larger than in any other lizard. On the right, tracing using the DGS (digital graphic segregation) method recovered a skull with upper temporal fenestrae.

Myrmecodaptria microphagosa (Gao and Norell 2000) Early Cretaceous) was originally considered incerta sedis, a possible basal gekkotan (gecko). Conrad and Norell 2006 nested Myrmecodaptria as a basal autarchoglossan (traditionally: snakes/skinks/anguimorphs). Conrad 2008 nested Myrmecodaptria similarly. Gauthier et al. 2012 nested Myrmecodaptria with Carusia without recognizing that Carusia nests outside of the Squamata. Though not related, the two taxa are quite similar, though Carusia has a proportionately much shorter skull and is overall much larger.

The large reptile tree nested Myrmecodaptria with Cryptolacerta (Fig. 2), an odd, tiny, burrowing lizard also described the same year (Müller et al. 2012). These taxa nested with Kuroyuriella and Ophisaurus, between helodermatids and skinks within the Squamata.

Gao K and Norell, MA 2000. Taxonomic Composition and Systematics of Late Cretaceous Lizard Assemblages from Ukhaa Tolgod and Adjacent Localities, Mongolian Gobi Desert. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 249: 1-118.

Conrad JL and Norell MA 2006. High-resolution X-ray computed tomography of an Early Cretaceous gekkonomorph (Squamata) from Öösh (Övörkhangai; Mongolia). Historical Biology 18 (4): 405.

Conrad JL 2008. Phylogeny and Systematics of Squamata (Reptilia) Based on Morphology”. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 310: 1–182.

Evans SE and Matusmoto R 2015. An assemblage of lizards from the Early Cretaceous of Japan. Palaeontologia Electronica 18(2):1-36.

Gauthier JA, Kearney M, Maisano JA, Rieppel O and Behlke ADB. 2012. Assembling the Squamate Tree of Life: Perspectives from the Phenotype and the Fossil Record. Bulletin of the Peabody Museum of Natural History 53: 1-308.

Gray JE 1838. Catalogue of the Slender-tongued Saurians, with Descriptions of many new Genera and Species. Annals of the Magazine of Natural History, First Series 1: 274–283, 388–394. (Elgaria, new genus, p. 390).

McConkey EH 1954. A systematic study of the North American lizards of the genus Ophisaurus. American Midland Naturalist 51:133-171.

Müller J, Hipsley CA, Head JJ, Kardjilov N, Hilger A, Wuttke M and Reisz RR 2011. Eocene lizard from Germany reveals amphisbaenian origins. Nature 473 (7347): 364–367. doi:10.1038/nature09919

Wiens JJ and Slingluff JL 2001. How lizards turn into snakes: a phylogenetic analysis of body-form evolution in anguid lizards. Evolution 55:2303-2318.

wiki/Cryptolacerta
wiki/Ophisaurus
wiki/Myrmecodaptria
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