Atokasaurus

Atokasaurus
Temporal range: Early Cretaceous
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Scinciformata
Infraorder: Scincomorpha
Family: †Paramacellodidae (?)
Genus: †
Nydam and Cifelli, 2002
Type species
†Atokasaurus metarsiodon
Nydam and Cifelli, 2002

Atokasaurus is an extinct genus of scincomorph lizard from the Early Cretaceous of Oklahoma. The type and only species is Atokasaurus metarsiodon, named in 2002 on the basis of a single isolated lower jaw bone found within the Antlers Formation in Atoka County. It is similar in appearance to extinct lizards in the family Paramacellodidae and may itself be a paramacellodid, although the phylogenetic relationships of the group are uncertain. Atokasaurus differs from other paramacellodids in having teeth in the lower jaw with enlarged bases and an S-shaped profile when viewed edge-on.[1]

References

  1. ^ Nydam, R.; Cifelli, R. (2002). "Lizards from the Lower Cretaceous (Aptian-Albian) Antlers and Cloverly Formations". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 22 (2): 286–298. doi:10.1671/0272-4634(2002)022[0286:lftlca]2.0.co;2.


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