SQUAMATA Oppel, 1811

Lapparent, France de, Bailon, Salvador, Augé, Marc Louis & Rage, Jean-Claude, 2020, Amphibians and reptiles from the Neogene of Afghanistan, Geodiversitas 42 (22), pp. 409-426 : 420

Order SQUAMATA Oppel, 1811

Gen. et sp. indet. A

LOCALITY AND AGE. — Sherullah 9, Khordkabul basin, Afghanistan, late Miocene, late Vallesian-basal Turolian transition, MN10/11.

MATERIAL EXAMINED. — One fragment of bone with teeth (AFG 1668), 1 incomplete vertebra (AFG 1669).

COMMENTS

A small fragment of bone bears two teeth. The implantation of the teeth is clearly, although not deeply, pleurodont. The second specimen is a fragmentary vertebra which provides no information.

These specimens demonstrate that lizards are present, but their fragmentary nature excludes all other statement. To be fair, agamid and anguimorph lizards have, respectively, acrodont and subpleurodont dentition (sensu Hoffstetter 1954) but members of these taxa often exhibit pleurodont teeth on the anterior part of the jaw ( Augé 1997, 2005).

Gen. et sp. indet. B

LOCALITY AND AGE. — Pul-E Charkhi, Kabul basin, Afghanistan, earliest Pliocene, early Ruscinian, MN 13/14.

MATERIAL EXAMINED. — Two fragments of bones with teeth (AFG 1675, AFG 1676), 1 fragmentary vertebra (AFG 1677) .

COMMENTS

The two fragments of bones bear a few teeth. The teeth are pleurodont on both bones, but they are thick on one specimen whereas they are slender on the other fragment. Therefore, two distinct lizards are probably present, yet further identification would be unwise given the poor preservation of the jaws (see above). The fragment of vertebra is not diagnostic within lacertilians.