Eolacertidae: a new extinct clade of lizards from the Palaeogene; with comments on the origin of the dominant European reptile group – Lacertidae

Abstract

We describe a new lizard taxon, Stefanikia siderea gen. et sp. nov., from the early-middle Eocene locality of Messel in Germany based on a nearly complete skeleton, which we studied using μCT methods. It shares many characters with the Eocene taxon Eolacerta, which is broadly distributed in the Eocene of central and Western Europe, but is much smaller and shows several important anatomical differences. The new discovery sheds light on the paleodiversity of these lizards in the Eocene of Europe, and the new family name Eolacertidae is proposed to encompass Eolacerta and Stefanikia. The relationships of Eolacerta have been intractable. Our phylogenetic analyses confirm that Eolacertidae is a member of the clade Lacertiformes and provide strong support for a sister-group relationship to Lacertidae. In some places, skin impressions are preserved, displaying the body scalation. As such, the exquisitely preserved specimens of Eolacertidae from Messel provide new insight into the morphology and ecology of lizards on the stem of Lacertidae, Europe’s dominant group of living reptiles.

http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:DFD01563-A913-4286-B64B-E0912474FD08

Keywords:

• Squamata
• Eocene
• Messel
• Germany

Acknowledgement

The photographs using camera were taken by A. Vögel (Senckenberg Research Institute, Frankfurt am Main). Peter Hornberger (Deggendorf) conducted the μCT scan. We thank J.-C. Rage (Muséum national d’Histoirenaturelle Paris), A. Bolet (Institut Català de Paleontologia Miquel Crusafont) and two anonymous reviewers for their critical reading of earlier versions of the manuscript.