An artist’s impression of "Cryptovaranoides microlanius" when it was alive millions of years ago. (Image credit: Lavinia Gandolfi)
LiveScience has a story about a new lizard from the Triassic. Cryptovaranoides microlanius dates to about 202 million years, which makes it the oldest lizard fossil known by about 35 million years. It was discovered in 1950's near Britol, England and had been incorrectly described as Clevosaurus. The animal was redescribed recently in the journal Science Advances.
For the new study, researchers analyzed the fossil and found that the lizard dates to around 202 million years ago, from the latter part of the Triassic period (237 million years to 201 million years ago); and that the remains included a partial skeleton, skull and mandibles. A computed tomography (CT) scan of the fossil helped researchers determine that they were looking at a type of Squamata — the largest order of reptiles, encompassing lizards, snakes and a group of legless lizards called amphisbaenians, or "worm lizards."The fossil is small enough to "fit in the palm of your hand" and includes a 1.2-inch (3 centimeters) skull with a jaw full of sharp teeth, said Michael Benton(opens in new tab), the study's co-author and a professor of vertebrate paleontology at the University of Bristol.Because of the fossil’s small size, the researchers had to use less invasive techniques to study the lizard; such methods weren’t around when it was first discovered.
