Based on diagnostic jaw and dental material from the Cenomanian—middle Paleocene of the western U.S.A., we erect a new fossil lizard taxon, Contogeniidae taxon nov., that contains the following species: Contogenys sloani Estes, 1969 (Maastrichtian—early Paleocene, Montana); Contogenys ekalakaensis sp. nov. (middle Paleocene, Montana); Palaeoscincosaurus middletoni Sullivan and Lucas, 1996 (early Paleocene, Colorado); Palaeoscincosaurus pharkidodon sp. nov. (Campanian, Utah); Utahgenys evansi gen. et sp. nov. (Turonian, Utah); and Utahgenys sp. indet. (Cenomanian, Utah). These taxa share unique characteristics of tooth and jaw morphologies (e.g., tooth crowns truncate and bearing longitudinal apical grooves; hypertrophied inferior alveolar canal). Phylogenetic analysis indicates that among squamates, Contogeniidae taxon nov. is most closely related to Xantusiidae.
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1 September 2009
The Occurrence of Contogenys-Like Lizards in the Late Cretaceous and Early Tertiary of the Western Interior of the U.S.A.
Randall L. Nydam,
Brandon M. Fitzpatrick
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Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology
Vol. 29 • No. 3
September 2009
Vol. 29 • No. 3
September 2009