Oldest Modern Lizard Fossil Reconfirmed as Squamate

New analysis validates the 205-million-year-old Cryptovaranoides microlanius as the earliest known member of the lizard-snake group Squamata.

A fossil from the Late Triassic, discovered near Bristol, has been reconfirmed as the world's oldest modern-type lizard, dating back 205 million years.
The fossil, named Cryptovaranoides microlanius, shifts the origin of Squamata, the group including lizards and snakes, back by 35 million years.
University of Bristol researchers refuted a 2023 study that had reclassified the fossil as an archosauromorph, a group related to crocodilians and dinosaurs.
Detailed anatomical analysis, including CT scans, confirmed the fossil's squamate features, such as its skull, jaws, teeth, and limb bones.
The findings, published in Royal Society Open Science, underscore Cryptovaranoides' pivotal role in understanding early lizard evolution.