''Barbaturex'' is an extinct

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nom ...

of giant herbivorous

iguania Iguania is an infraorder of squamate reptiles that includes iguanas, chameleons, agamids, and New World lizards like anoles and phrynosomatids. Using morphological features as a guide to evolutionary relationships, the Iguania are believed ...

n lizards from the

Eocene The Eocene ( ) Epoch is a geological epoch that lasted from about 56 to 33.9 million years ago (mya). It is the second epoch of the Paleogene Period in the modern Cenozoic Era. The name ''Eocene'' comes from the Ancient Greek (''ēṓs'', " ...

Myanmar Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...

. It is represented by a single species, ''Barbaturex morrisoni'', which is known from several partial dentaries (lower jaw bones) and a fused pair of frontals, two bones that form part of the top of the skull. Based on the size of these bones, ''Barbaturex morrisoni'' is estimated to have been about from snout to vent, and possibly up to including the tail. ''Barbaturex morrisoni'' was named after

The Doors The Doors were an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1965, with vocalist Jim Morrison, keyboardist Ray Manzarek, guitarist Robby Krieger, and drummer John Densmore. They were among the most controversial and influential rock acts ...

frontman

Jim Morrison James Douglas Morrison (December 8, 1943 – July 3, 1971) was an American singer, poet and songwriter who was the lead vocalist of the rock band the Doors. Due to his wild personality, poetic lyrics, distinctive voice, unpredictable and err ...

, a play on his epithet "The Lizard King". The genus's name is a

portmanteau A portmanteau word, or portmanteau (, ) is a blend of wordsmandible In anatomy, the mandible, lower jaw or jawbone is the largest, strongest and lowest bone in the human facial skeleton. It forms the lower jaw and holds the lower teeth in place. The mandible sits beneath the maxilla. It is the only movable bone ...

and the lizard's large size.

Ecology

''Barbaturex'' lived in a dry tropical forest. It is thought to have been herbivorous, living within a typical Eocene fauna composed of hyaenodonts, basal primates, various artiodactyls and soft-shelled turtles.

Relationships

''Barbaturex'' belongs to a major group of lizards called Iguania, represented today by

iguana ''Iguana'' (, ) is a genus of herbivorous lizards that are native to tropical areas of Mexico, Central America, South America, and the Caribbean. The genus was first described in 1768 by Austrian naturalist Josephus Nicolaus Laurenti in his ...

s, chameleons, and

agamid Agamidae is a family of over 300 species of iguanian lizards indigenous to Africa, Asia, Australia, and a few in Southern Europe. Many species are commonly called dragons or dragon lizards. Overview Phylogenetically, they may be sister to the ...

s. It belongs to a clade or evolutionary grouping of iguanians called Acrodonta. Like other members of Acrodonta, ''Barbaturex'' has an

acrodont Acrodonty (from Greek ''akros'' 'highest' + ''dont'' 'tooth') is an anatomical placement of the teeth at the summit of the alveolar ridge of the jaw, without sockets, characteristic of bony fish. Functionally, acrodont tooth implantation may be rela ...

dentition at the back of its jaws, meaning that the teeth are completely fused with the jaw bone, and a

pleurodont Pleurodont is a form of tooth implantation common in reptiles of the order Squamata, as well as in at least one temnospondyl. The labial (cheek) side of pleurodont teeth are fused (ankylosed) to the inner surface of the jaw bones which host them. T ...

dentition at the front of its jaws, meaning that the teeth are fused with the inside surface of the jaw bone. A

phylogenetic In biology, phylogenetics (; from Greek φυλή/ φῦλον [] "tribe, clan, race", and wikt:γενετικός, γενετικός [] "origin, source, birth") is the study of the evolutionary history and relationships among or within groups o ...

analysis published with its initial description placed ''Barbaturex'' as the

sister taxon In phylogenetics, a sister group or sister taxon, also called an adelphotaxon, comprises the closest relative(s) of another given unit in an evolutionary tree. Definition The expression is most easily illustrated by a cladogram: Taxon A and ...

or closest relative of the group

Uromasticinae Uromastycinae is a subfamily of reptiles in the family Agamidae.Uromasticinae
UniProt Taxonomy

Genera< ...

, which includes the living ''

Uromastyx ''Uromastyx'' is a genus of African and Asian agamid lizards, the member species of which are commonly called spiny-tailed lizards, uromastyces, mastigures, or dabb lizards. Lizards in the genus ''Uromastyx'' are primarily herbivorous, but occa ...

'', a genus of short-skulled herbivorous

lizards. Below is a

cladogram A cladogram (from Greek ''clados'' "branch" and ''gramma'' "character") is a diagram used in cladistics to show relations among organisms. A cladogram is not, however, an evolutionary tree because it does not show how ancestors are related to ...

showing the relationship of ''Barbaturex'' to other members of Acrodonta:

References

Eocene reptiles of Asia Eocene lizards Fossil taxa described in 2013 Fossils of Myanmar Jim Morrison {{paleo-lizard-stub