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Mimeosaurus
''Mimeosaurus'' is an extinct genus of iguanian lizard from the Late Cretaceous of Mongolia. It is part of an extinct family of iguanians called Priscagamidae, and was the first priscagamid to have been described, having been named by American paleontologist Charles W. Gilmore in 1943. Currently only one species, the type species ''Mimeosaurus crassus'', belongs within the genus. A second species, ''M. tugrikinensis'', was named in 1989, but later studies argued that the specimens on which the new name is based are not sufficiently different from ''M. crassus'' specimens to warrant being classified as a separate species. ''Mimeosaurus'' is unique among iguanians in having premaxilla bones at the tip of the snout that are reduced in size, as well as having two pairs of enlarged canine-like teeth in the maxilla The maxilla (plural: ''maxillae'' ) in vertebrates is the upper fixed (not fixed in Neopterygii) bone of the jaw formed from the fusion of two maxillary bones. In human ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Priscagamidae
Priscagamidae is an extinct family of iguanian lizards known from the Late Cretaceous of Mongolia and China and the Eocene of India, spanning a range from 75 to 54 million years ago. It includes the genera ''Heterodontagama'', ''Mimeosaurus'', ''Phrynosomimus'', ''Priscagama'', and possibly ''Pleurodontagama''. The first fossils of priscagamids were found in the Djadochta and Khermeen Tsav formations of Mongolia. More recently they have been found in the Cambay Formation in India, leading to the naming of ''Heterodontagama'' in 2013. Priscagamidae was originally described as a subfamily of Agamidae called Priscagaminae in 1984, but it was reclassified as a distinct family in 1989. Most phylogenetic analyses (analyses of evolutionary relationships) still find a close relationship between Priscagamidae and Agamidae (both have been grouped under a clade called Chamaeleontiformes), although a 2015 study found it to be basal to all other iguanian clades, warranting its removal from ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Iguania
Iguania is an infraorder of squamate reptiles that includes iguanas, chameleons, agamids, and New World lizards like anoles and phrynosomatids. Using morphological features as a guide to evolutionary relationships, the Iguania are believed to form the sister group to the remainder of the Squamata, which comprise nearly 11,000 named species, roughly 2000 of which are iguanians. However, molecular information has placed Iguania well within the Squamata as sister taxa to the Anguimorpha and closely related to snakes. The order has been under debate and revisions after being classified by Charles Lewis Camp in 1923 due to difficulties finding adequate synapomorphic morphological characteristics. Most Iguanias are arboreal but there are several terrestrial groups. They usually have primitive fleshy, non-prehensile tongues, although the tongue is highly modified in chameleons. The group has a fossil record that extends back to the Early Jurassic (the oldest known member is '' B ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |