| Atokasaurus Temporal range: Early Cretaceous | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | Squamata |
| Infraorder: | Scincomorpha |
| Family: | †Paramacellodidae (?) |
| Genus: | †Atokasaurus Nydam and Cifelli, 2002 |
| Type species | |
| †Atokasaurus metarsiodon Nydam and Cifelli, 2002 | |
Atokasaurus is an extinct genus of scincomorph lizard from the Early Cretaceous of Oklahoma. The type and only species is Atokasaurus metarsiodon, named in 2002 on the basis of a single isolated lower jaw bone found within the Antlers Formation in Atoka County. It is similar in appearance to extinct lizards in the family Paramacellodidae and may itself be a paramacellodid, although the phylogenetic relationships of the group are uncertain. Atokasaurus differs from other paramacellodids in having teeth in the lower jaw with enlarged bases and an S-shaped profile when viewed edge-on.
References
- Nydam, R.; Cifelli, R. (2002). "Lizards from the Lower Cretaceous (Aptian-Albian) Antlers and Cloverly Formations". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 22 (2): 286–298. doi:10.1671/0272-4634(2002)022[0286:lftlca]2.0.co;2.
| Taxon identifiers | |
|---|---|
| Atokasaurus | |
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