"A raccoon-sized armored lizard newly identified from Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument in southern Utah highlights the unexpected variety of these giant reptiles during the height of the Age of Dinosaurs.
The species, named Bolg amondol after the goblin prince in J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit, also provides insight into the complex connections that once linked ancient continents.
While most fossil lizards from the Age of Dinosaurs are known only from highly fragmentary remains—often nothing more than a single bone or tooth—the preserved pieces of Bolg’s skeleton, though incomplete, hold an extraordinary wealth of information.
The Monstersauria are characterized by their large size and distinctive features like pitted, polygonal armor attached to their skulls and sharp, spire-like teeth. So by modern lizard standards, a very large animal, similar in size to a Savannah monitor lizard; something that you wouldn’t want to mess around with.
The rocks where Bolg was discovered, the Kaiparowits Formation of Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, have emerged as a paleontological hotspot over the past 25 years, producing one of the most astounding dinosaur-dominated records anywhere in North America with dozens of new species and critical insights into the past."
While most fossil lizards from the Age of Dinosaurs are known only from highly fragmentary remains—often nothing more than a single bone or tooth—the preserved pieces of Bolg’s skeleton, though incomplete, hold an extraordinary wealth of information.
The Monstersauria are characterized by their large size and distinctive features like pitted, polygonal armor attached to their skulls and sharp, spire-like teeth. So by modern lizard standards, a very large animal, similar in size to a Savannah monitor lizard; something that you wouldn’t want to mess around with.
The rocks where Bolg was discovered, the Kaiparowits Formation of Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, have emerged as a paleontological hotspot over the past 25 years, producing one of the most astounding dinosaur-dominated records anywhere in North America with dozens of new species and critical insights into the past."
SciTechDaily
