• journal_title：Bulletin de la Societe Geologique de France
• Contributor：Robert M. Sullivan ; Marc Augé ; Eric Wille ; Richard Smith
• Publisher：Societe Geologique de France
• Date：2012-12-01
• Format：text/html
• Language：en
• Identifier：10.2113/gssgfbull.183.6.627
• journal_abbrev：Bulletin de la Societe Geologique de France
• issn：0037-9409
• volume：183
• issue：6
• firstpage：627
• section：Articles

A new glyptosaurine lizard ?Placosaurus ragei, n. sp., is recognized as being distinct from Paraplacosauriops quercyi in having a lightly built dentary, incipient heterodont teeth, lower tooth count (19), and teeth that are more gracile compared to other European glyptosaurine lizards. ?Placosaurus ragei also differs from “Placosaurus” europaeus, which has a prominent homodont dentition and is more massive. A second specimen, an isolated, nearly complete parietal, partly covered with hexagonal and polygonal osteoderms, is referable to the European glyptosaurin Placosaurus and is provisionally referred to the species ?Placosaurus ragei. A third specimen, an incomplete right frontal fragment of an indeterminate “melanosaurin,” may represent a new taxon, or may be referable to the well-known Western European taxon Placosauriops.

Taxa pertaining to both tribes (Glyptosaurini and “Melanosaurini”) of glyptosaurine lizards have been recovered from the lower Eocene deposits of Dormaal, Belgium. Their apparent sudden appearance is interpreted as marking entry into western Europe. The Dormaal locality has been correlated to reference level MP7 and thus is considered to be of early Eocene age. Glyptosaurine lizards probably dispersed into western Europe, from North America, through the Greenland bridge during late Paleocene/early Eocene time.