A new Early Cretaceous lizard in Myanmar amber with exceptionally preserved integument
Čerňanský, Andrej (University in Bratislava. Department of Ecology)
Stanley, Edward L. (Florida Museum of Natural History. Department of Natural History)
Daza, Juan D. (Sam Houston State University. Department of Biological Sciences)
Bolet, Arnau (Institut Català de Paleontologia Miquel Crusafont)
Salvador Arias, J. (Unidad Ejecutora Lillo (Argentina))
Bauer, Aaron M.. (Villanova University. Department of Biology (USA))
Vidal-García, Marta (University of Calgary. Department of Cell Biology and Anatomy)
Bevitt, Joseph J. (Australian Centre for Neutron Scattering)
Peretti, Adolf (Peretti Museum Foundation)
Aung, Nyi Nyi (Peretti Museum Foundation)
Evans, Susan E. (University College London. Department of Cell and Developmental Biology)

Date:	2022
Abstract:	We here report on a well-preserved juvenile lizard specimen in Albian amber (ca. 110 mya) from the Hkamti site (Myanmar). This new taxon is represented by an articulated skull and the anterior portion of the trunk, including the pectoral girdle and forelimbs. The scleral ossicles and eyelid are also visible, and the specimen exhibits pristine detail of the integument (of both head and body). In a combined molecular and morphological analysis, it was consistently recovered as a scincoid lizard (Scinciformata), as sister to Tepexisaurus + Xantusiidae. However, the phylogenetic position of the new taxon should be interpreted with caution as the holotype is an immature individual. We explored the possibility of miscoding ontogenetically variable characters by running alternative analyses in which these characters were scored as missing data for our taxon. With the exception of one tree, in which it was sister to Amphisbaenia, the specimen was recovered as a Pan-xantusiid. Moreover, we cannot rule out the possibility that it represents a separate lineage of uncertain phylogenetic position, as it is the case for many Jurassic and Cretaceous taxa. Nonetheless, this fossil offers a rare opportunity to glimpse the external appearance of one group of lizards during the Early Cretaceous.
Grants:	Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación IJC2018-037685-I
Rights:	Aquest document està subjecte a una llicència d'ús Creative Commons. Es permet la reproducció total o parcial, la distribució, la comunicació pública de l'obra i la creació d'obres derivades, fins i tot amb finalitats comercials, sempre i quan es reconegui l'autoria de l'obra original.
Language:	Anglès
Document:	Article ; recerca ; Versió publicada
Published in:	Scientific reports, Vol. 12 (January 2022) , art. 1660, ISSN 2045-2322

DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-05735-5
PMID: 35102237

12 p, 5.1 MB

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Research literature > UAB research groups literature > Research Centres and Groups (research output) > Experimental sciences > Institut Català de Paleontologia Miquel Crusafont (ICP)
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