Aigialosaurus

Aigialosaurus is an extinct genus of Late Cretaceous marine or semiaquatic lizard classified as part of the family Aigialosauridae within the Mosasauroidea. Exclusively found in deposits of Cenomanian age near Hvar, Croatia, the genus contain one valid species, A. dalmaticus.[1] According to recent molecular and morphological data, Aigialosaurus is the oldest known member of the lineage leading to large Cretaceous marine reptiles called mosasaurs, a group most closely related to snakes among living squamates.[2][3]

Aigialosaurus
Temporal range: Cenomanian, 99.7–94.3 Ma
Illustration of the A. dalmaticus holotype
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Superfamily: †Mosasauroidea
Family: †Aigialosauridae
Genus: †Aigialosaurus
Kramberger, 1892
Species:
†A. dalmaticus
Binomial name
†Aigialosaurus dalmaticus
Kramberger, 1892

Another primitive Mosasauroid, Opetiosaurus, was suggested to represent a second species of Aigialosaurus in 2009, "Aigialosaurus bucchichi",[4] though this conclusion has not been supported by recent analyses.[1]

Life restoration of A. dalmaticus

References
  1. Madzia, D., Cau, A. (2017). Inferring "weak spots" in phylogenetic trees: application to mosasauroid nomenclature. PeerJ 5:e3782
  2. Grigoriev, D. V. (2013). "Redescription of Prognathodon lutugini (Squamata, Mosasauridae)." Proceedings of the Zoological Institute RAS, 317(3): 246-261.
  3. Tod W. Reeder, Ted M. Townsend, Daniel G. Mulcahy, Brice P. Noonan, Perry L. Wood Jr., Jack W. Sites Jr., and John J. Wiens. (2015). "Integrated analyses resolve conflicts over Squamate reptile phylogeny and reveal unexpected placements for fossil taxa" PLoS ONE 10(3): e0118199.
  4. Dutchak, Alex R.; and Caldwell, Michael W. (2009)."A redescription of Aigialosaurus (= Opetiosaurus) bucchichi (Kornhuber, 1901) (Squamata: Aigialosauridae) with comments on mosasauroid systematics". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 29 (2): 437-452.


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