New teiid lizards from the Upper Cretaceous Oldman Formation (Judithian) of southeastern Alberta, Canada, with a review of the Cretaceous record of teiids

Abstract

Four new genera and five new species of Teiidae (Lacertilia), based on newly discovered specimens from the Upper Cretaceous Oldman Formation (Judithian), Alberta, Canada, are named and described. A brief review of the Cretaceous record of the Teiidae in both North America and central Asia is presented. The North American Judithian lizard fauna is significantly different taxonomically from that of Lancian age and, hence, represents a previously unrecognized episode in the evolutionary history of teiids. The stratigraphic distribution of teiid fossils in the Cretaceous of North America suggests that the unicuspid tooth form is primitive for the family Teiidae. -from Authors