The Miocene fossil lizards from Kutch (Gujarat), India: a rare window to the past diversity of this subcontinent

The Miocene beds of Kutch in India are well known for their mammalian assemblages, including the extinct ape Sivapithecus, but far less is known about the fossil squamates from this area. Although India with its over 800 reptile species is recognized as one of the global biodiversity hotspots, knowledge of past diversity and paleobiogeography of squamates on this subcontinent is very limited. We here report on new lizard finds, which have been recovered from two stratigraphic levels: the older Palasava locality (dated to the middle Miocene, ca. 14 Ma) and the younger Tapar site (late Miocene, ca. 11–10 Ma). Although fragmentarily preserved, the material described here sheds important light on the composition and paleobiogeography of squamates during the Miocene in South Asia. The older Palasava locality contains cf. Uromastyx s.l. and Varanus sp., the latter representing the oldest record of this taxon in the region of India south of the Himalayas and its occurrence here suggests a mean annual temperature not less than 15°C. The material from the younger Tapar locality consists of an unidentified acrodontan lizard, here questionably placed in agamids, and a skink. The latter shows a resemblance to mabuyines, however, the fragmentary nature of the material does not allow a precise allocation without doubts. The cosmopolitan mabuyines have been suggested to have their origin in Asia, so the potential presence of mabuyines in the Tapar locality might represent the first, but putative, Asian evidence of the occurrence of this group in the Miocene.

A comparative atlas of the skull osteology of European lizards (Reptilia: Squamata)

The fossil record provides evidence of a long evolutionary history of European lizards. Since fossil lizards are regularly represented by bone remains, the knowledge of the origins of extant taxa and their distribution in time and space is hindered by the fact that their comparative osteology is not yet completely and adequately known. In spite of a rising interest in this topic since the end of the 20th century, a gap in our knowledge is still evident. We here report the first broad-scale comparative osteological analysis of the skulls of extant European lizards, highlighting significant differences that can be used in identification. This comparative study, including as many European species as possible, leads to the creation of a detailed diagnostic key for each single bone. Also, our data significantly improve the recognizability of extant European non-snake squamates, with 54% of the current diversity to be recognized based on the new results contra the previously estimated 31%. This recognizability is expected to further increase in the future, with new studies focusing on species that are either missing or poorly represented here, or applying promising advanced methodologies.

Fossil “saurians” in the Quekett cabinets at the Royal College of Surgeons of England

As part of the recent Collections Review project carried out at the Royal College of Surgeons of England, the scientific and historical potential of the collection of John Thomas Quekett (1815–1861), which includes archival documents, library items and an extensive collection of microscope slides, has been highlighted. In parallel with this review, a pilot project is currently underway and aims to conserve, catalogue and research Quekett's slides in the College's collection. This note reports on the findings of the pilot study and in particular on the discovery of the earliest microscope slides of “great fossil lizards”, including bones, teeth and coprolites presented by some of the greatest English naturalists of the nineteenth century.