A new polyglyphanodontian lizard from the Upper Cretaceous of southern China implies a complex evolutionary history of the clade

Polyglyphanodontian lizards were one of the dominant groups among
squamates during the Late Cretaceous. They were widely distributed and
exhibited a great range of body sizes and high morphological variation.
The Asian taxa are preserved mostly as complete or nearly complete skulls
or skeletons, therefore providing substantial anatomical information for
the clade. Here, we describe a new polyglyphanodontian genus and species
from the Upper Cretaceous of Ganzhou Basin, Jiangxi Province, China. The
new taxon is diagnosed by its unique dentition, with complex posterior
teeth having mesial, distal and lingual expansions, connected by crests
and with depressions between. The phylogenetic analyses support an
assignment of the new taxon to Polyglyphanodontia, forming an unresolved
clade with Polyglyphanodon, Gilmoreteius, Adamisaurus, Tianyusaurus and
Yechilacerta, or being a sister taxon to either Adamisaurus or a small
clade of Tianyusaurus and Yechilacerta. The cranial and dental morphology
suggests the new lizard was omnivorous, contrasting with the specialized
herbivory of Tianyusaurus and Yechilacerta from the same region. Moreover,
the new lizard is the first polyglyphanodontian taxon from Asia with a
complex dentition, which shows similarities with that of some North
American taxa, and this may suggest the evolutionary history of
Polyglyphanodontia is more complicated than previously thought.