Eolacertidae: a new extinct clade of lizards from the Palaeogene; with comments on the origin of the dominant European reptile group – Lacertidae

We describe a new lizard taxon, <i>Stefanikia siderea</i> gen. et sp. nov., from the early-middle Eocene locality of Messel in Germany based on a nearly complete skeleton, which we studied using μCT methods. It shares many characters with the Eocene taxon <i>Eolacerta</i>, which is broadly distributed in the Eocene of central and Western Europe, but is much smaller and shows several important anatomical differences. The new discovery sheds light on the paleodiversity of these lizards in the Eocene of Europe, and the new family name Eolacertidae is proposed to encompass <i>Eolacerta</i> and <i>Stefanikia</i>. The relationships of <i>Eolacerta</i> have been intractable. Our phylogenetic analyses confirm that Eolacertidae is a member of the clade Lacertiformes and provide strong support for a sister-group relationship to Lacertidae. In some places, skin impressions are preserved, displaying the body scalation. As such, the exquisitely preserved specimens of Eolacertidae from Messel provide new insight into the morphology and ecology of lizards on the stem of Lacertidae, Europe’s dominant group of living reptiles. http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:DFD01563-A913-4286-B64B-E0912474FD08