Paraplacosauriops (near Placosauriops) is an extinct genus of anguid lizards from the middle Eocene of France.

Paraplacosauriops
Temporal range: middle Eocene
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Family: Anguidae
Subfamily: Glyptosaurinae
Genus: Paraplacosauriops
Auge and Sullivan, 2006
Type species
Paraplacosauriops quercyi
Filhol, 1882

Taxonomy

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Paraplacosauriops was originally named Plestiodon quercyi by Filhol (1882) on the basis of dentary remains from fissure fill deposits in Quercy, France.[1] Hoffstetter (1944) referred P. quercyi to the glyptosaurine genus Placosaurus, which is likewise endemic to Europe.[2] However, Auge and Sullivan (2006) recognized quercyi as belonging to the tribe Melanosaurini and not a Placosaurus-like glyptosaurin, so they erected Paraplacosauriops for P. quercyi.[3]

Description

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Distinguishing features of Paraplacosauriops include a distinguishing heterodont dentition, especially the anterior teeth being extremely slender, pointed and not peg-like.[3]

References

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  1. ^ Filhol, H. 1882. Description d'un genre nouveau de Reptile fossile et note sur une espèce de Reptile fossile du genre Plestiodon. Bulletin de la Société Philomathique de Paris, 6: 127.
  2. ^ Hoffstetter, R. 1944. Sur les Scincidae fossiles. 1. Formes Européennes et Nord-Américaines. Bulletin du Muséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, 16: 547–553.
  3. ^ a b R. M. Sullivan and M. Augé. 2006. Redescription of the holotype of Placosaurus rugosus gervais 1848–1852 (Squamata, Anguidae, Glyptosaurinae) from the Eocene of France and a revision of the genus. Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology 26(1):127-132