Burma, AMNH FR21444, an undescribed specimen from a slightly older deposit in Mongolia, and Gobekko from the Late Cretaceous of Mongolia. Hoburogekko is the third oldest known gecko behind AMNH FR21444 and Cretaceogekko.[2]
Discovery and naming
The holotype, PIN 3334-500, a partial skull, was discovered near Khovboor, Mongolia in a layer of the Dzunbain Formation. Hoburogekko suchanovi was named and described by Alifanov (1989).[1]
Description
The living gecko species Agamura persica has a tall, blunt snout like Hoburogekko and lives in an arid environment like that which is inferred for Hoburogekko.
The skull of Hoburogekko is short, blunt, and tall. The proportions of its skull bones are similar to those of the living genus
sedimentological evidence that the region of Mongolia in which it was found was semi-arid during the Early Cretaceous. By comparison with living blunt-snouted, desert-dwelling geckos, Hoburogekko may have had a cylindrical body adapted for a burrowing lifestyle.[2]
The total length of the skull of Hoburogekko is estimated to be 1.2 centimetres (0.47 in). The total body length of Hoburogekko difficult to extrapolate from its skull alone because the relative size of the head to the rest of the body varies greatly among living geckos. Based on this range of proportions, Hoburogekko may have been anywhere between 3.5 and 6.0 centimetres (1.4 and 2.4 in) long. Hoburogekko appears primitive in having an open
derived features of geckos possessed by Hoburogekko include smooth skull bones. Another derived gekkotan characteristic, eye sockets that are not bounded in the back by postorbital bars, may have been present in Hoburogekko, although only the front portion of the eye socket is preserved in the known specimens of Hoburogekko.[2] The large size of the jugal bone suggests that it may have extended backward to form a postorbital bar, in which case Hoburogekko would appear more primitive.[3]
Relationships
The broad-tailed gecko, Phyllurus platurus, as well as other members of Carphodactylidae, may be closely related to Hoburogekko.
Hoburogekko was recognized as a close relative of geckos since it was first named in 1989.
Gekkota, the group that includes true geckos, as more basal members of the larger group Gekkonomorpha. Therefore, Hoburogekko may be the most derived of the four known Mesozoic gekkonomorphs.[2] However, the analysis of Daza et al. (2013) placed Hoburogekko in a polytomy or unresolved evolutionary relationship with Gobekko, P. platurus (representing the family Carphodactylidae), pygopodids, and a clade (evolutionary grouping) including all other geckos, meaning that its position within Gekkonomorpha is still uncertain.[3]
References
^ abcAlifanov, V.R. (1989) The oldest gecko (Lacertilia, Gekkonidae) from the Lower Cretaceous of Mongolia. Paleontologicheskii Zhurnal 1989:124–126. [in Russian].
