A new large fossil species of Tiliqua (Squamata; Scincidae) from the Pliocene of the Wellington Caves (New South Wales, Australia)

Simple item page
dc.contributor.authorCernansky, A.
dc.contributor.authorHutchinson, M.
dc.date.issued2013
dc.description.abstractWe describe an isolated frontal bone referable to a new species, Tiliqua laticephala (Scincidae), from the Pliocene Big Sink doline of the Wellington Caves, central eastern New South Wales, Australia. The bone is very robust, is unusually broad and thick, especially around the bases of the subolfactory processes and represents a large and heavily built lizard. The fossil has multiple fragmentary osteoderms in the frontal region, showing asymmetry in shape and thickness that do not correspond to the more regularly arranged anterior head shields of other scincoids. The specimen shares two unusual character states with extant Tiliqua, especially the large armoured species, T. rugosa. Other large skinks related to T. rugosa (other Tiliqua spp., Corucia zebrata, Egernia cunninghamii, Bellatorias major, Liopholis kintorei) are less similar in terms of frontal shape, thickness, sculpture, osteoderm ornamentation, and positioning of adjacent bones.
dc.description.statementofresponsibilityAndrej Čerňanský And Mark N. Hutchinson
dc.identifier.citationAlcheringa: an Australian journal of palaeontology, 2013; 37(1):131-136
dc.identifier.doi10.1080/03115518.2012.715326
dc.identifier.issn0311-5518
dc.identifier.issn1752-0754
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/2440/79088
dc.language.isoen
dc.publisherGeological Society Australia Inc
dc.rights© 2013 Association of Australasian Palaeontologists
dc.source.urihttps://doi.org/10.1080/03115518.2012.715326
dc.subjectskink
dc.subjectfrontal bone
dc.subjectSouthern Hemisphere
dc.subjectCenozoic
dc.subjectNeogene
dc.titleA new large fossil species of Tiliqua (Squamata; Scincidae) from the Pliocene of the Wellington Caves (New South Wales, Australia)
dc.typeJournal article
pubs.publication-statusPublished

Files

Collections

Earth and Environmental Sciences publications
Environment Institute publications