Aiolosaurus Temporal range:
Late Cretaceous,
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Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Reptilia |
Order: | Squamata |
Genus: | †
Aiolosaurus Gao and Norell, 2000 |
Species: | †A. oriens
|
Binomial name | |
†Aiolosaurus oriens Gao and Norell,
2000
|
Aiolosaurus is an extinct genus of monitor lizard from the Late Cretaceous of Mongolia. The type and only species, Aiolosaurus oriens, was named in 2000 from Ukhaa Tolgod, a rich fossil site in the Campanian-age Djadochta Formation.
Aiolosaurus was named in 2000 on the basis of a single holotype specimen cataloged as IGM 3/171. This specimen includes a partial skull and parts of the postcranial skeleton. Aiolosaurus is named after Aeolus, the Greek god of wind, while the specific name of A. oriens means "east." [1] Diagnostic features of Aiolosaurus are found mainly in the skull. They include:
Aiolosaurus was initially classified as a basal member of Varanoidea, the superfamily that includes monitor lizards, helodermatids, and mosasaurs. Cherminotus, another Late Cretaceous varanoid from Mongolia, was also classified in this way. In a 2008 phylogenetic analysis, Aiolosaurus was classified as a member of Varanidae. It was placed in the subfamily Lanthanotinae along with Cherminotus and the living Earless monitor lizard. [2] Another 2008 analysis supported the placement of Aiolosaurus in Varanidae but did not find it to be a member of Lanthanotinae. Instead, it was found to be a more basal varanid. As some of the earliest monitor lizards, Aiolosaurus, Cherminotus, and the related Ovoo are representative of the first evolutionary radiation of varanids. [3]
Aiolosaurus Temporal range:
Late Cretaceous,
| |
---|---|
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Reptilia |
Order: | Squamata |
Genus: | †
Aiolosaurus Gao and Norell, 2000 |
Species: | †A. oriens
|
Binomial name | |
†Aiolosaurus oriens Gao and Norell,
2000
|
Aiolosaurus is an extinct genus of monitor lizard from the Late Cretaceous of Mongolia. The type and only species, Aiolosaurus oriens, was named in 2000 from Ukhaa Tolgod, a rich fossil site in the Campanian-age Djadochta Formation.
Aiolosaurus was named in 2000 on the basis of a single holotype specimen cataloged as IGM 3/171. This specimen includes a partial skull and parts of the postcranial skeleton. Aiolosaurus is named after Aeolus, the Greek god of wind, while the specific name of A. oriens means "east." [1] Diagnostic features of Aiolosaurus are found mainly in the skull. They include:
Aiolosaurus was initially classified as a basal member of Varanoidea, the superfamily that includes monitor lizards, helodermatids, and mosasaurs. Cherminotus, another Late Cretaceous varanoid from Mongolia, was also classified in this way. In a 2008 phylogenetic analysis, Aiolosaurus was classified as a member of Varanidae. It was placed in the subfamily Lanthanotinae along with Cherminotus and the living Earless monitor lizard. [2] Another 2008 analysis supported the placement of Aiolosaurus in Varanidae but did not find it to be a member of Lanthanotinae. Instead, it was found to be a more basal varanid. As some of the earliest monitor lizards, Aiolosaurus, Cherminotus, and the related Ovoo are representative of the first evolutionary radiation of varanids. [3]