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Monstersauria
Monstersauria is a clade of anguimorph lizards, defined as all taxa more closely related to ''Heloderma'' than '' Varanus''. It includes ''Heloderma'', as well as several extinct genera, such as '' Estesia'', '' Primaderma'' and '' Gobiderma'', but it was found to be polyphyletic in the most recent and complete squamate phylogenetic analysis by Reeder ''et al.'' (2015). Classification Traditionally, Monstersauria was thought to include the modern Helodermatidae along with fossil genera such as '' Gobiderma'' and '' Estesia'' on the finding that it was a sister to Varanidae. But in more recent years, such as 2004 and 2008, more precise molecular studies have shown that the extant ''Heloderma'' is closer to Anguidae & kin than to Varanoidea. A large-scale integrated analysis on squamate phylogeny incorporating 737 characters of morphological and molecular data in 2015 analyzed the traditionally-monstersaurian fossil taxa along with the rest of the dataset, and what it found wa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Morohasaurus
''Morohasaurus'' is an extinct genus of ''cf.'' Monstersauria, monstersaurian squamates know from a single left dentary from the Early Cretaceous (?Albian) Ohyamashimo Formation of the Sasayama Group in Tamba City, Hyogo Prefecture, Japan. The type and only species is ''Morohasaurus kamitakiensis.'' As of 2021, Ikeda ''et al.'' place this taxon ''a Cf.#Biological use, conferatur'' within Monstersauria based on general synapomorphies but without performing a phylogenetic analysis. The unique characters described in the paper to distinguish ''Morohasaurus kamitakiensis'' as a valid species include "the sinuous posteroventral rim of the dentary with a large U-shaped upper notch and small V-shaped lower notch, posteroventral corner of intramandibular septum with a weakly pointed eminence projecting posteriorly, and unicuspid, curved trenchant teeth with distinct blade-like carinae on their mesial and distal sides without grooves or serrations." If its presumed affinities are correct, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |