Asprosaurus
| Asprosaurus Temporal range: Late Cretaceous Santonian–Campanian | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | Squamata |
| Superfamily: | Varanoidea |
| (unranked): | 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.[1]
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) it is only rivalled by Chianghsia from China.[1]
References
- 1 2 Park, Jin-Young; Evans, Susan E.; Huh, Min (2015). "The first lizard fossil (Reptilia: Squamata) from the Mesozoic of South Korea". Cretaceous Research. 55: 292. doi:10.1016/j.cretres.2015.03.001.