Extinct genus of lizards
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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." Diagnostic features of "Aiolosaurus" are found mainly in the skull. They include:
Classification.
"Aiolosaurus" was initially classified as a basal member of Varanoidea, the superfamily that includes monitor lizards, helodermatids, and mosasaurs. "Cherminotus", another Late Cretaceous varanoid from Mongolia, was also classified in this way. In a 2008 phylogenetic analysis, "Aiolosaurus" was classified as a member of Varanidae. It was placed in the subfamily Lanthanotinae along with "Cherminotus" and the living Earless monitor lizard. Another 2008 analysis supported the placement of "Aiolosaurus" in Varanidae but did not find it to be a member of Lanthanotinae. Instead, it was found to be a more basal varanid. As some of the earliest monitor lizards, "Aiolosaurus", "Cherminotus", and the related "Ovoo" are representative of the first evolutionary radiation of varanids.
References.
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