Asprosaurus
Temporal range: Campanian 81 Ma
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[1]
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Clade: Monstersauria
Genus: †Asprosaurus
Park et al., 2015
Type species
†Asprosaurus bibongriensis
Park et al., 2015

Asprosaurus is an extinct genus of anguimorph lizard from the Late Cretaceous of South Korea. Named in 2015 from the Seonso Conglomerate Formation, the type species Asprosaurus bibongriensis is the first Mesozoic lizard to have been discovered on the Korean peninsula. Because Asprosaurus is known only from fragmentary material, its relationships with other lizards are uncertain. However, features of the lower jaw suggest that it may be a member of a clade (evolutionary grouping) called Monstersauria, which includes the living Gila monster.[2]

Size

Asprosaurus is among the largest Late Cretaceous terrestrial lizards from Asia described to date, with an estimated skull length of 180–200 mm (7.1–7.9 in), only rivalled by Chianghsia from China.[2]

References

  1. ^ Kim, J.K.; Kwon, Y.E.; Lee, S.G.; Kim, C.Y.; Kim, J.G.; Huh, M.; Lee, E.; Kim, Y.J. (2017). "Correlative microscopy of the constituents of a dinosaur rib fossil and hosting mudstone: Implications on diagenesis and fossil preservation". PLOS One. 13 (3): e0195421. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0186600. PMC 5648225.
  2. ^ a b Park, Jin-Young; Evans, Susan E.; Huh, Min (2015). "The first lizard fossil (Reptilia: Squamata) from the Mesozoic of South Korea" (PDF). Cretaceous Research. 55: 292–302. doi:10.1016/j.cretres.2015.03.001.


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