MALI: The recent discovery of an ancient species of an adorable, chubby lizard helped scientists fill in the missing link in the evolution of lizards.
Paleontologists at the University of Alberta in Canada unearthed the 80-million-year-old remains of an extinct species of lizard in what is now known as the municipality of Cruzeiro do Oeste in Brazil.
In their paper published online on Aug. 26 in the journal Nature Communications, the researchers describe this newly found lizard species and how they identified the fossilized lizard by examining its tooth and jaw. They found that the ancient creature, named Gueragama sulamericana, holds clues to the history of iguanas.
“It’s a missing link in the sense of the paleobiogeography and possibly the origins of the group,” said Dr. Michael Caldwell, professor of biological sciences at the University, who also co-authored the paper. The biological sciences professor also said that the fossil likely originated from Southern Pangaea.
Five separate groups make up the lizard world, including specific types of lizards like the gecko and skink. Another group is that of iguanas, along with their close relatives. There are about 1,700 known species of lizard.
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