Earliest Example of a Giant Monitor Lizard (Varanus, Varanidae, Squamata) 英文参考文献.docVIP

EarliestExampleofaGiantMonitorLizard(Varanus, Varanidae,Squamata) JackL.Conrad1,2*,AnaM.Balcarcel2,CarlM.Mehling2 1Anatomy Department, New York College of Osteopathic Medicine, Old Westbury, New York, United States of America, 2Department of Vertebrate Paleontology, AmericanMuseumofNaturalHistory,NewYork,NewYork,UnitedStatesofAmerica Abstract Background:Varanidaeisacladeoftiny(,20mmpre-caudallength[PCL])togiant(.600mmPCL)lizardsfirstappearing in the Cretaceous. True monitor lizards (Varanus) are known from diagnostic remains beginning in the early Miocene (Varanus rusingensis), although extremely fragmentary remains have been suggested as indicating earlier Varanus . The paleobiogeographichistoryofVaranusandtimingfororiginofitsgigantismremainuncertain. Methodology/Principal Findings: A new Varanus from the Mytilini Formation (Turolian, Miocene) of Samos, Greece is described. The holotype consists of a partial skull roof, right side of a braincase, partial posterior mandible, fragment of clavicle,andpartsofsixvertebrae.Acladisticanalysisincluding83taxacodedfor5733molecularand489morphological characters(71previouslyunincluded)demonstratesthatthenewfossilisanestedmemberofanotherwiseexclusivelyEast AsianVaranusclade.Thenewspeciesistheearliest-knowngiant(.600mmPCL)terrestriallizard.Importantly,thisspecies co-existedwithadiversecontinentalmammalianfauna. Conclusions/Significance:Thenewmonitorislarger(longer)than99%ofknownfossilandlivinglizards.Varanusincludes, byfar,thelargestlimbedsquamatestoday.Theonlyextantnon-snakesquamatesthatapproachmonitorsinmaximumsize are the glass-snake Pseudopus and the worm-lizard Amphisbaena. Mosasauroids were larger, but exclusively marine, and occurred only during the Late Cretaceous. Large, extant, non-Varanus, lizards are limbless and/or largely isolated from mammalian competitors. By contrast, our new Varanus achieved gigantism in a continental environment populated by diverseeutherianmammalcompetitors. Citation: Conrad JL, Balcarcel A