List of largest extinct lizards

List of largest extinct lizards which are members of the order Squamata.

List

Rank	Scientific name	Family	Largest specimen	Length	Mass	Image
1	Tylosaurus proriger	Mosasauridae	"FHSM VP-2496"	14 m (46 ft) [1]	-
2	Tylosaurus bernardi	Mosasauridae		14 m (46 ft)	-
	Tylosaurus proriger	Mosasauridae	FHSM VP-2496	14 meters (46 ft) [2]
3	Mosasaurus hoffmani	Mosasauridae	"	12.9 m (42 ft) [3]	-
4	Tylosaurus pembiensis	Mosasauridae	"Bruce"	12.2 m (40 ft)[ citation needed ] [4]	[ citation needed ]

Geckos (Gekkota)

Kawekaweau is the largest among of all known geckos

• An extinct member of family Diplodactylidae, Kawekaweau or Delcourt's giant gecko (Gigarcanum delcourti), the largest gecko of all time. It had a snout-vent length of 37 cm (14.6 in), a total length of 60 cm (23.6 in). ^[5] and a mass of 896.98 g (31.640 oz). ^[6]
• Some members of genus Phelsuma are among the largest of extant geckos (see list of largest extant lizards). However, the extinct Rodrigues giant day gecko (Phelsuma gigas) was the largest day gecko and second-largest of all geckos (after the kawekaweau), with a length of up to 40 cm (15.74 in) and possibly even 44 cm (17.3 in),^{[ citation needed ]} and body mass 193.43 g (6.8 oz). ^[7]

Iguanas (Iguanidae)

The Lapitiguana is the largest iguana fossils

• The extant members of genus Brachylophus are iguanas small and medium-sized, growing a length of 60–75 cm (24–30 in). Although, in the past there was a much larger member of this family – Brachylophus gibbonsi , reached in length of 1.2 m (3.9 ft),^{[ citation needed ]} and thus, was 1.8 times longer than its modern relatives. Another very large extinct iguanid, reached even larger – Lapitiguana impensa which had a length of 1.5 m (4.91 ft). ^[8]

True lizards (Lacertidae)

• The largest ever lived lacertid, the goliath Tenefire lizard (Gallotia goliath) reached the length of 1.2–1.25 m (3.9–4.1 ft). ^[9]

Marine lizards (Mosasauridae)

Mosasaurs were not only the largest lizards, but also the largest representatives of the Squamata order, as well as one of the biggest marine reptiles

• The largest mosasaurs were Mosasaurus and Tylosaurus species, which grew to around 17 m (56 ft) and were projected to weigh up to 20 t (44,000 lb). ^[10]

Skinks (Scincidae)

• The Cape Verde giant skink ( Chioninia coctei ) was a very large skink ^[11] that grew up to a snout-vent length of 32 cm (13 in) ^[12] and 56.5 cm (22.2 in) in a total length. ^[13]
• Another very large extinct skink is the Mauritian giant skink (Leiolopisma mauritiana) which is the largest skink so far discovered; it grew to a snout-vent length of 34 cm (13 in) ^[14] with a total length of 68 cm (27 in), and according to some information up to 80 cm (31 in) ^[15]

Monitor lizards (Varanidae)

The largest terrestrial lizard ever discovered was extinct megalania from Australia

• The prehistoric Australian megalania (Varanus priscus), which may have existed up to 40,000 years ago, is the largest varanid and the largest terrestrial lizard known to exist, but the lack of a complete skeleton has resulted in a wide range of size estimates. Molnar's 2004 assessment resulted in an average weight of 320 kg (710 lb) and length of 4.5 m (15 ft), and a maximum of 1,940 kg (4,280 lb) at 7 m (23 ft) in length, which is toward the high end of the early estimates. ^[16] However, a 2009 study estimated megalania at 5.5 m (18 ft) and 575 kg (1,268 lb). ^[17]
• Some prehistoric non-varanoid anguimorphs approached varanid sizes. Palaeosaniwa was roughly comparable to a large monitor lizard (Varanidae) in size. Measuring around 3–3.5 m (9.8–11.5 ft) in length, ^{[18] [19]} it is among the largest terrestrial lizards known from the Mesozoic era. Later study shows estimation with snout–vent length about 85 centimetres (33 in) for Maastrichtian species. ^[20] Asprosaurus may compete with Palaeosaniwa in size. ^[21] Another large Mesozoic lizard was Chianghsia , with snout-vent length of over 1 m (3 ft 3 in). ^[22]

See also

• Largest prehistoric animals

References

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2. Everhart, Michael J. (2017). Oceans of Kansas: a natural history of the western interior sea. Life of the past (2nd ed.). Bloomington: Indiana university press. ISBN   978-0-253-02632-3.
3. Gayford, Joel H.; Engelman, Russell K.; Sternes, Phillip C.; Itano, Wayne M.; Bazzi, Mohamad; Collareta, Alberto; Salas-Gismondi, Rodolfo; Shimada, Kenshu (September 2024). "Cautionary tales on the use of proxies to estimate body size and form of extinct animals". Ecology and Evolution. 14 (9) e70218. Bibcode:2024EcoEv..1470218G. doi:10.1002/ece3.70218. ISSN   2045-7758. PMC   11368419 . PMID   39224151.
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7. "Rodrigues giant day gecko – Encyclopedia of Life". Eol.org.
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9. Martin, A. (2006). 3. Aportaciones de D. Telesforo Bravo al conocimiento de la fauna de vertebrados terrestres de las islas Canarias (PDF). Instituto de Estudios Hispánicos de Canarias. pp. 71–92. ISBN   84-611-0482-X.{{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
10. Science & Nature – Sea Monsters – Fact File: Giant Mosasaur. BBC (2005-08-26)
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12. Greer AE [in French] (1976). "On the evolution of the giant Cape Verde scincid lizard Macroscincus coctei ". Journal of Natural History. 10 (6): 691–712. Bibcode:1976JNatH..10..691G. doi:10.1080/00222937600770551.
13. Luís M.P. Ceríaco (2012). "From Cape Verde to the Netherlands via Portugal and France: the journey of an early specimen of the giant skink Chioninia coctei (Duméril & Bibron, 1839)". Zoologia Caboverdiana: 74–81. ISSN   2074-5737.
14. James Evans (2021). Lizards of the World: A Guide to Every Family. Princeton University Press. ISBN   978-1-78240-957-1.
15. "Island Weirdness #26 – The Mauritian Giant Skink". Nixillustration.com. Retrieved 19 May 2022.
16. Molnar, R. E. (2004). "The Long and Honorable History of Monitors and Their Kin". Varanoid Lizards of the World. Indiana University Press. p. 588. ISBN   978-0-253-34366-6.
17. Fry, Bryan G.; Wroe, Stephen; Teeuwisse, Wouter; van Osch, Matthias J. P.; Moreno, Karen; Ingle, Janette; McHenry, Colin; Ferrara, Toni; Clausen, Phillip; Scheib, Holger; Winter, Kelly L.; Greisman, Laura; Roelants, Kim; van der Weerd, Louise; Clemente, Christofer J. (2009-06-02). "A central role for venom in predation by Varanus komodoensis (Komodo Dragon) and the extinct giant Varanus ( Megalania ) priscus". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 106 (22): 8969–8974. Bibcode:2009PNAS..106.8969F. doi: 10.1073/pnas.0810883106 . ISSN   0027-8424. PMC   2690028 . PMID   19451641.
18. Archibald, J. David (2011). Extinction and Radiation: How the Fall of Dinosaurs Led to the Rise of Mammals. JHU Press. p. 43. ISBN   978-0-8018-9805-1.
19. "Palaeosaniwa" from James Gurney: The World of Dinosaurs
20. Longrich, Nicholas R.; Bhullar, Bhart-Anjan S.; Gauthier, Jacques A. (2012-12-26). "Mass extinction of lizards and snakes at the Cretaceous–Paleogene boundary". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 109 (52): 21396–21401. Bibcode:2012PNAS..10921396L. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1211526110 . ISSN   0027-8424. PMC   3535637 . PMID   23236177.
21. The first lizard fossil (Reptilia: Squamata) from the Mesozoic of South Korea. Cretaceous Research 55:292–302. - J.-Y. Park, S. E. Evans & M. Huh - 2015.
22. Mo, J. Y.; Xu, X.; Evans, S. E. (2012). "A large predatory lizard (Platynota, Squamata) from the Late Cretaceous of South China". Journal of Systematic Palaeontology. 10 (2): 333. Bibcode:2012JSPal..10..333M. doi:10.1080/14772019.2011.588254. S2CID   85682211.