A new anguine lizard (Squamata, Anguidae, Anguinae) from the Late Miocene (Vallesian) of the Vallès-Penedès Basin (NE Iberian Peninsula)
Villa, Andrea (Institut Català de Paleontologia Miquel Crusafont)
Bolet, Arnau (Institut Català de Paleontologia Miquel Crusafont)
Klembara, Jozef (Comenius University in Bratislava)
Serrano-Martínez, Alejandro (Institut Català de Paleontologia Miquel Crusafont)
Luján Hernández, Àngel (Institut Català de Paleontologia Miquel Crusafont)
Fortuny, Josep (Institut Català de Paleontologia Miquel Crusafont)
Delfino, Massimo (Institut Català de Paleontologia Miquel Crusafont)
Schillinger, Burkhard (Technische Universität München)
Alba, David M. (Institut Català de Paleontologia Miquel Crusafont)

Date:	2025
Abstract:	Post-Palaeogene anguids from Europe have been referred to three extant genera: Anguis, Ophisaurus s. l. (including Dopasia and Hyalosaurus), and Pseudopus. In recent years, a higher generic diversity has started to be recognised, with extinct genera described from both Neogene and Quaternary localities. We here describe a new genus and species of anguid lizard, Fontisaurus tarumbaire gen. et sp. nov. , based on a large articulated skull from the Vallesian (Late Miocene) of Sant Miquel de Toudell, in the Vallès-Penedès Basin, on which we also performed neutron CT scanning. The new lizard differs from all other anguid species from Europe, both extant and extinct, most notably in the combination of widely laterally extended anterolateral processes and medially directed anterior end of the anterolateral ventral crests in the parietal. Phylogenetic analyses using maximum parsimony and Bayesian inference support the placement of this new genus and species as a member of the Anguinae, which is currently the only anguioid clade clearly present in Europe after the Palaeogene/Neogene transition. Based on tip-dating Bayesian analyses, the divergence of this new anguid from its sister taxon within the Anguinae largely predates this transition, but uncertainties still surround its detailed phylogenetic relationships. An isolated parietal from the Middle Miocene of Griesbeckerzell 1a in Germany strongly resembles the morphology displayed by the holotype of Fontisaurus tarumbaire gen. et sp. nov. but differs from it in the sculpturing type and the development of the muscular surface. This fossil from Germany is here referred to as Fontisaurus aff. tarumbaire and implies a wider stratigraphical and geographic distribution for Fontisaurus gen. nov.
Grants:	Agencia Estatal de Investigación PID2024-159434NB-I00 Agencia Estatal de Investigación PID2020-117289GB-I00 Agencia Estatal de Investigación PID2020-117118GB-I00 Agència de Gestió d'Ajuts Universitaris i de Recerca 2021/SGR-00620 Agència de Gestió d'Ajuts Universitaris i de Recerca 2021/SGR-01184 Agència de Gestió d'Ajuts Universitaris i de Recerca 2019/BP-00154 Agència de Gestió d'Ajuts Universitaris i de Recerca 2021/BP-00038 Agencia Estatal de Investigación RYC2022-037745-I Agencia Estatal de Investigación RYC2021-032857-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
Subject:	Europe ; Phylogeny ; Neogene ; Spain ; Vallesian ; Neutron CT scanning
Published in:	Swiss Journal of Palaeontology, Vol. 144 (November 2025) , art. 70

DOI: 10.1186/s13358-025-00411-3

29 p, 8.9 MB

The record appears in these collections:
Research literature > UAB research groups literature > Research Centres and Groups (research output) > Experimental sciences > Institut Català de Paleontologia Miquel Crusafont (ICP)
Articles > Research articles
Articles > Published articles