| Ardeosaurus Temporal range: | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Fossil specimen | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | Squamata |
| Family: | † Ardeosauridae |
| Genus: | † Ardeosaurus Meyer, 1860 |
| Type species | |
| †Homeosaurus brevipes Meyer, 1855 | |
| Species | |
| |
Ardeosaurus is an extinct genus of basal lizards, known from fossils found in the Late Jurassic Solnhofen Plattenkalk of Bavaria, southern Germany. It was originally thought to have been a species of Homeosaurus . [1]
Ardeosaurus was originally considered a distant relative of modern geckos, and had a similar physical appearance. Evans and colleagues, however, showed it in 2005 to be a basal squamate outside the crown group of all living lizards and snakes. [2] A subsequent study conducted by Simões and colleagues in 2017 corroborated its initial proposed phylogenetic placement, indicating that Ardeosaurus was a stem-gekkotan. [3] It was around 20 centimetres (7.9 in) long, with a flattened head and large eyes. It was probably nocturnal, and had jaws specialised for feeding on insects and spiders. [4]
