A tiny skeleton became the subject of a prominent debate as scientists went back and forth over the identity of a reptilian retrieved from a quarry near Bristol , UK . Now , the authors of the original study that coronate it the world ’s old lizard have addressed unfavorable judgment made about their discovery , confirm " that the little Bristol reptilian is indeed the world ’s oldest advanced - type lounge lizard . ”
That ’s according to Dr David Whiteside , conduce writer of the original study that add up out inScience Advancesin 2022 , and a follow - up now publish to Royal Society Open Science . Both papers center around a small reptile that was retrieved from a stone pit in a bit of the land that represents the latest Triassic of England .
It was namedCryptovaranoides microlanius , and at around 205 million years old ( at least ) , it was declared not only the oldest knownlizard , but a fossil find that pushed back the emergence of these animals by 30 million years . Such intelligence was have a bun in the oven to conjure up some controversy , but the squad were confident in 2022 that they had inspected the specimen thoroughly enough to brook their claims .
Life restoration of the earliest lizard,Cryptovaranoides microlanius.Image credit: Lavinia Gandolfi
“ We were therefore surprised , perhaps even shocked , that in 2023 another team of academics hint thatCryptovaranoideswas not a lizard or even a lizard relative , ” read co - author Professor Michael Benton in arelease , “ but in fact an archosauromorph , more closely related to crocodilians and dinosaurs . ”
Concerns were raised from elsewhere in the donnish community , and so the squad move back to check their original work . scientific discipline is seldom a linear process and this kind of receptiveness to consider and appraise the validity of alternative surmisal is crucial to the fashion scientists see they continue move in the proper direction , as we found out in aninterview with Prof Jim Al - Khalili .
The Bristol squad reelect to the original specimen and scans that expose the dodo hidden beneath a rock , including X - beam and CT scans . The answer expose that most of the concerns raised were wrong , and that all details of the skull , jaw , tooth , and limb bones putCryptovaranoidesdown as a lizard , not an archosauropmorph . They ’ve included all the extra materials in their latest study so that anyone can dive in and get a well facial expression at the details .
“ The result of all this had to be tested by a phylogenetic analysis , ” said Whiteside . “ This is where we code hundreds of anatomical characteristic inCryptovaranoidesand other modern and fossil lounge lizard , as well as various archosauromorphs . We hunt down the analysis time after clock time , and it gave our original result , that the little Bristol reptilian is indeed the world ’s oldest modern - type lizard . ”
Congratulations , Cryptovaranoides .
The sketch is published inRoyal Society Open Science .
