A new lizard-like reptile (Diapsida, Lepidosauromorpha) from the Upper Triassic (Carnian) of Virginia and the Triassic record of lepidosauromorphs
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ID: 0000C1146
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We report a new taxon of lepidosauromorph reptiles, Vinitasaura lizae, based on a nearly complete dentary and a fragment of a second dentary from the Upper Triassic (upper Carnian) Vinita Formation in east-central Virginia. It offers new insights into into the morphological diversification and spatiotemporal distribution of lepidosauromorphs during the Triassic. It presents a mixture of plesiomorphic lepidosaurian features in addition to ones otherwise present exclusively in crown-group squamates, revealing the antiquity of the latter features within Lepidosauromorpha. The lepidosauromorph assemblage from the Vinita Formation also includes at least two other taxa and reveals connections to other assemblages in Europe and North America, indicating homogeneity of such assemblages across these regions during the Middle and Late Triassic. It currently provides the best record of the lepidosauromorph diversification in equatorial Pangaea, highlighting the potential importance of similar assemblages from western North America for addressing questions concerning the origin and early diversification of lepidosaurs during the Triassic.