''Tamaulipasaurus'' 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 n ...
of
lepidosauromorph
Lepidosauromorpha (in PhyloCode known as ''Pan-Lepidosauria'') is a group of reptiles comprising all diapsids closer to lizards than to archosaurs (which include crocodiles and birds). The only living sub-group is the Lepidosauria, which contain ...
reptile from the
Early Jurassic
The Early Jurassic Epoch (in chronostratigraphy corresponding to the Lower Jurassic Series) is the earliest of three epochs of the Jurassic Period. The Early Jurassic starts immediately after the Triassic-Jurassic extinction event, 201.3 Ma ...
of
Mexico
Mexico ( Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guate ...
. It contains a single
species
In biology, a species is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of ...
, ''Tamaulipasaurus morenoi'', which is based on skull material found at Huizachal Canyon, a productive fossil site in the
La Boca Formation
The La Boca Formation is a geological formation in Tamaulipas state, northeast Mexico. It was thought to date back to the Early Jurassic, concretely the Pliensbachian stage epoch. Although, the latest studies had proven that the local Vulcanism, r ...
.
[R. C. Munter and J. M. Clark. 2006. Theropod dinosaurs from the Early Jurassic of Huizachal Canyon, Mexico. In M. T. Carrano, T. J. Gaudin, R. W. Blob, J. R. Wible (eds.), Amniote paleobiology: perspectives on the evolution of mammals, birds, and reptiles. University of Chicago Press, Chicago 53-7] ''Tamaulipasaurus'' had an unusual condensed skull similar to that of
amphisbaenia
Amphisbaenia (called amphisbaenians or worm lizards) is a group of usually legless squamates, comprising over 200 extant species. Amphisbaenians are characterized by their long bodies, the reduction or loss of the limbs, and rudimentary eyes. A ...
ns, a modern group of burrowing
squamates
Squamata (, Latin ''squamatus'', 'scaly, having scales') is the largest order of reptiles, comprising lizards, snakes, and amphisbaenians (worm lizards), which are collectively known as squamates or scaled reptiles. With over 10,900 species, it ...
. It also possessed a variety of
plesiomorphic
In phylogenetics, a plesiomorphy ("near form") and symplesiomorphy are synonyms for an ancestral character shared by all members of a clade, which does not distinguish the clade from other clades.
Plesiomorphy, symplesiomorphy, apomorphy, an ...
("primitive") skull features indicating that it was not a true squamate. Nevertheless, other traits do support a position close to squamates, within the broader reptile group Lepidosauromorpha.
References
Jurassic reptiles of North America
Jurassic lepidosauromorphs
Fossil taxa described in 1994
Prehistoric reptile genera
{{Jurassic-reptile-stub