Biology:Polrussia

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Short description: Extinct genus of lizards

Polrussia
Temporal range: Late Cretaceous
Scientific classification e
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Iguania
Clade: Gobiguania
Genus: Polrussia
Borsuk-Białynicka and Alifanov, 1991
Type species
Polrussia mongoliensis
Borsuk-Białynicka and Alifanov, 1991

Polrussia is an extinct genus of iguanian lizards dating to the Late Cretaceous epoch, found in what is now Mongolia. It belongs to a group of extinct iguanians called Gobiguania that was endemic to the Gobi Desert during the Late Cretaceous. The type species Polrussia mongoliensis was named in 1991 on the basis of a skull found in the Barun Goyot Formation. The genus name refers to the Polish and Russian paleontologists who worked together to find and describe the material. Polrussia has a short skull, slightly pointed and flattened snout, and large eye sockets. The teeth each have one cusp, as opposed to the multiple cusps seen in some other gobiguanians. The skull is only 1.2 centimetres (0.47 in) long, making Polrussia one of the smallest gobiguanians.[1]

Below is a cladogram from Daza et al. (2012) showing the phylogenetic relationships of Polrussia:[2]

Iguania

Hoyalacerta sanzi

Huehuecuetzpalli mixtecus

Pristiguana brasiliensis

Chamaeleontiformes

Priscagamidae

Acrodonta

Iguanoidea (=Pleurodonta)
Silvaiguana

Hoplocercidae

Polychrotidae

Polrussia mongoliensis

Igua minuta

Isodontosaurus gracilis

Anchaurosaurus gilmorei

Zapsosaurus sceliphros

Saichangurvel davidsoni

Temujinia ellisoni

Ctenomastax parva

Euiguana

Corytophanidae

Terraiguana

Iguanidae

Crotaphytidae

Phrynosomatidae

Opluridae

Uquiasaurus

Liolaemidae

Leiocephalus

Tropiduridae

References

  1. Borsuk-Białynicka, Magdalena; Alifanov, Vladimir R.. "First Asiatic 'iguanid' lizards in the Late Cretaceous of Mongolia". Acta Palaeontologica Polonica 36 (3): 325–342. http://www.app.pan.pl/archive/published/app36/app36-325. 
  2. Daza, J. D.; Abdala, V.; Arias, J. S.; García-López, D.; Ortiz, P. (2012). "Cladistic Analysis of Iguania and a Fossil Lizard from the Late Pliocene of Northwestern Argentina". Journal of Herpetology 46: 104–119. doi:10.1670/10-112. 

Wikidata ☰ Q22286484 entry