''Parasaurillus'' is a genus of

extinct Extinction is the termination of a kind of organism or of a group of kinds (taxon), usually a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, although the capacity to breed and ...

lizard Lizards are a widespread group of squamate reptiles, with over 7,000 species, ranging across all continents except Antarctica, as well as most oceanic island chains. The group is paraphyletic since it excludes the snakes and Amphisbaenia alt ...

from the

Early Cretaceous The Early Cretaceous ( geochronological name) or the Lower Cretaceous (chronostratigraphic name), is the earlier or lower of the two major divisions of the Cretaceous. It is usually considered to stretch from 145 Ma to 100.5 Ma. Geology Pro ...

of southern England. The type and only species is ''Parasaurillus pseudobtusus'', named in

2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...

Susan E. Evans Susan E. Evans is British palaeontologist and herpetologist. She is the author or co-author of over 100 peer-reviewed papers and book chapters. She received a BSc in Zoology at Bedford College in 1974, and in 1977 a PhD in vertebrate palaeon ...

and Belinda Searle for extensive jaw and tooth material that has previously been classified as either '' Saurillus obtusus'' (from which the binomial was derived) or ''

Pseudosaurillus ''Pseudosaurillus'' is a genus of extinct lizard from the Early Cretaceous of southern England. The type and only species is ''Pseudosaurillus becklesi'', named in 1967 by R. Hoffstetter limited jaw and tooth material from the Berriasian Lulworth ...

'' from the

Berriasian In the geological timescale, the Berriasian is an age/stage of the Early/Lower Cretaceous. It is the oldest subdivision in the entire Cretaceous. It has been taken to span the time between 145.0 ± 4.0 Ma and 139.8 ± 3.0 Ma (million years ago) ...

Lulworth Formation. The taxon was found in the Mammal Bed near the base of the formation alongside the other lizards ''

Becklesius ''Becklesius'' is an extinct genus of Paramacellodid lizard known from the Late Jurassic to Late Cretaceous of Europe, the type species, ''B. hoffstetteri'' is known from Kimmeridgian aged sediments of the Alcobaça Formation in Portugal. An in ...

'', ''

Dorsetisaurus ''Dorsetisaurus'' is a genus of extinct lizard, known from the Late Jurassic of North America, and the Late Jurassic-earliest Cretaceous of Europe. The genus was first reported from the Early Cretaceous (Berriasian) Lulworth Formation of the Pur ...

'', ''

Durotrigia ''Durotrigia'' is a genus of extinct lizard from the Early Cretaceous of southern England. The type and only species is ''Durotrigia triconidens'', named in 1967 by R. Hoffstetter for jaw material in a review of the lizard fauna of the Berriasian ...

'', ''

Paramacellodus ''Paramacellodus'' is an extinct genus of scincomorph lizards from the Early Cretaceous of England and France, and the Late Jurassic of Portugal and the western United States. The type species, ''Paramacellodus oweni'', was named in 1967 from the ...

'', ''Pseudosaurillus'', ''

Parviraptor ''Parviraptor'' is a genus of stem-snake (clade Ophidia) containing one species, ''Parviraptor estesi'', from the Late Jurassic (Tithonian) or Early Cretaceous (Berriasian) Purbeck Limestone Formation of Dorset, England. A second species, ''Parv ...

'' and ''Saurillus obtusus''. It is likely closely related to Scincoidea, more so than other contemporary taxa.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q96398415 Early Cretaceous life Cretaceous lizards