Pumilia
Pumilia novaceki is an extinct iguanid that lived in what is now Palm Springs, California, from the Blancan to Irvingtonian stages of the Pliocene to Early Pleistocene.
Pumilia | |
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P. novaceki (top) and Phrynosoma mcallii (bottom) | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Reptilia |
Order: | Squamata |
Suborder: | Iguania |
Family: | Iguanidae |
Genus: | †Pumilia |
Species: | †P. novaceki |
Binomial name | |
†Pumilia novaceki Norell, 1989 | |
It is currently known from a partially crushed skull. Features of the skull show both basal iguanian features, and characters very similar to the extant Iguana, suggesting that the living animal may have resembled a juvenile green iguana.
Etymology
The genus name, Pumilia, means "diminutive" in Latin, in reference to how the living animal would have resembled a very small iguana. The specific name honors Michael J. Novacek, a colleague and friend of the describer, Mark Norell.
See also
References
- Norell, Mark (December 19, 1989), "Late Cenozoic Lizards of the Anza Borrego Desert, California" Contributions in Science, No. 414, Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, Los Angeles, CA
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