Igua

Extinct genus of lizards

Igua
Temporal range: Late Cretaceous
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Iguania
Clade: Gobiguania
Genus: Igua
Borsuk-Białynicka and Alifanov, 1991
Type species
Igua minuta
Borsuk-Białynicka and Alifanov, 1991

Igua is an extinct genus of iguanian lizards belonging to a group called Gobiguania that was endemic to the Gobi Desert during the Late Cretaceous. The type species Igua minuta was named in 1991 on the basis of a skull from the Barun Goyot Formation in Mongolia. The skull itself is very small, only 14 millimetres (0.55 in) long, and may have belonged to a juvenile given that it possesses a large fontanelle and that many of the bones are unfused. The snout-vent length of the individual (the total body length minus the tail) is estimated to have been 55 to 65 millimetres (2.2 to 2.6 in). Igua differs from related gobiguanians like Polrussia in having a more rounded skull. It is similar in appearance to the living genera Liolaemus and Tropidurus. The teeth are tricuspid and pleurodont, meaning they are attached to inner surfaces of the jaws.[1]

Below is a cladogram from Daza et al. (2012) showing the phylogenetic relationships of Igua:[2]

References

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  1. ^ Borsuk-Białynicka, M.; Alifanov, V.R. "First Asiatic 'iguanid' lizards in the Late Cretaceous of Mongolia". Acta Palaeontologica Polonica. 36 (3): 325–342.
  2. ^ Daza, J. D.; Abdala, V.; Arias, J. S.; García-López, D.; Ortiz, P. (2012). "Cladistic Analysis of Iguania and a Fossil Lizard from the Late Pliocene of Northwestern Argentina". Journal of Herpetology. 46: 104–119. doi:10.1670/10-112. hdl:11336/61054. S2CID 85405843.
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Extinct squamate genera
Acrodonta
Agamidae
Pleurodonta / Iguanoidea
Corytophanidae
Gobiguania
Iguanidae
Phrynosomatidae
Other extinct iguanians
Arretosauridae
  • Arretosaurus
  • Dornosaurus
  • Ergiliinsaurus
  • Khaichinguana
Priscagamidae
Armandisaurus explorator
Chamopsiidae
Gilmoreteiidae / "macrocephalosaurines"
"Polyglyphanodontines"
Other polyglyphanodontians
  • Adamisaurus
  • Funiusaurus
  • Gobinatus
  • Obamadon
  • Olindalacerta?
  • Paleochelco?
  • Peneteius
  • Tchingisaurus
  • Tianyusaurus
  • Tijubina?
  • Tripennaculus
Scincogekkonomorpha
Scleroglossa
Gekkonomorpha
Gekkota
Stem Autarchoglossa
(Evansauria)
  • Parmeosaurus
  • Tepexisaurus
  • Tijubina?
Bainguidae?
Cordyloidea
  • Eocordyla
  • Ornatocephalus
  • Sakurasaurus
Lacertoidea
Amphisbaenia
  • Oligodontosaurus
  • Todrasaurus
Amphisbaenidae
Bipedidae
Blanidae
  • Blanosaurus
  • Cuvieribaena
  • Louisamphisbaena
Chthonophidae
Rhineuridae
Polyodontobaenidae
  • Polyodontobaena
Contogeniidae
  • Contogenys
  • Palaeoscincosaurus
  • Utahgenys
Lacertidae
  • Amblyolacerta
  • Camptognathosaurus?
  • Dormaalisaurus
  • Dracaenosaurus
  • Escampcerta
  • Gracilicerta
  • Ligerosaurus
  • Maioricalacerta
  • Mediolacerta
  • Plesiolacerta
  • Pseudeumeces
  • Pseudolacerta
  • Quercycerta
Teiidae
Barbatteiidae
Xantusiidae
Scincoidea
Scincidae
Other scincomorphs
Paramacellodidae
Basal anguimorphs
Mosasauroidea?
Neoanguimorpha
Carusioidea
Xenosauridae
  • Entomophontes
  • Exostinus
  • Restes
Anguidae
Anguinae
Diploglossinae
  • Apodosauriscus
  • Eodiploglossus
Gerrhonotinae
  • Paragerrhonotus
  • Parophisaurus
Glyptosaurinae
Paleoanguimorpha
Basal varanoids / platynotans
Shinisauria?
Goannasauria
Basal Goannasaurians
Varanoidea
Lanthanotidae
Varanidae
Other platynotans / varanoids
Aigialosaurus dalmaticus

Plioplatecarpus primaevus Estesia mongoliensis Telmasaurus grangeri

Varanus priscus
Indeterminate squamates
Taxon identifiers
Igua


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