Aiolosaurus
| Aiolosaurus | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | Squamata |
| Genus: | †Aiolosaurus Gao and Norell, 2000 |
| Species: | †A. oriens
|
| Binomial name | |
| †Aiolosaurus oriens Gao and Norell, 2000
| |
Aiolosaurus is an extinct genus of monitor lizard from the Late Cretaceous of Mongolia. The type and only species, Aiolosaurus oriens, was named in 2000 from Ukhaa Tolgod, a rich fossil site in the Campanian-age Djadochta Formation.
Description and history
Aiolosaurus was named in 2000 on the basis of a single holotype specimen cataloged as IGM 3/171. This specimen includes a partial skull and parts of the postcranial skeleton. Aiolosaurus is named after Aeolus, the Greek god of wind, while the specific name of A. oriens means "east."[1] Diagnostic features of Aiolosaurus are found mainly in the skull. They include:
- The division of the nasals into two bones (they form one bone in living monitors).
- A small hole in the snout between the premaxilla and maxilla bones called the premaxillary fenestra.
- The separation of the premaxilla and septomaxilla bones by a projection of the maxilla bone.
- The small size of another hole in the snout called the septomaxillary foramen.
- Near the jaw joint, a hole in the surangular bone of the lower jaw that is positioned underneath the coronoid process of the upper jaw.[1]
Classification
Aiolosaurus was initially classified as a basal member of
Ovoo are representative of the first evolutionary radiation of varanids.[3]
