''Armandisaurus explorator'' is an extinct species of

iguanid The Iguanidae is a family of lizards composed of the iguanas, chuckwallas, and their prehistoric relatives, including the widespread green iguana. Taxonomy Iguanidae is thought to be the sister group to the collared lizards (family Crotaphy ...

that lived in what is now

Santa Fe County Santa Fe County ( es, Condado de Santa Fe; meaning ''Holy faith'' in Spanish) is located in the U.S. state of New Mexico. As of the 2010 census, the population was 144,170, making it New Mexico's third-most populous county, after Bernalillo Cou ...

New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Tiguex , OfficialLang = None , Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ker ...

, in the Early Middle Miocene period. The fossil specimen is a well-preserved cranium with mandibles and parts of seven cervical vertebrae collected by J. C. Blick in 1940. Fossil evidence suggests that ''A. explorator'' was a blunt, medium-sized iguana that grew to about 61 cm (24 in) including its tail.

Etymology

Armand (

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

), proper name, + sauros ( Greek), lizard, and explorator (

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

), one who investigates, after Jacques Armand Gauthier, the famous French explorer, in honor of his contributions to the study of reptile

phylogeny A phylogenetic tree (also phylogeny or evolutionary tree Felsenstein J. (2004). ''Inferring Phylogenies'' Sinauer Associates: Sunderland, MA.) is a branching diagram or a tree showing the evolutionary relationships among various biological spec ...

and to express the gratitude of

Norell Norell is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Arne Norell (1917–1971), Swedish furniture designer *Ingeborg Norell (born 1727), the first Finnish female to have received an official decoration *Mark Norell (born 1957), American p ...

and de Queiroz for bringing the specimen to their attention.

References

Iguanidae Prehistoric reptile genera Fossil taxa described in 1991 Taxa named by Mark Norell {{Paleo-reptile-stub