Huehuecuetzpalli

Huehuecuetzpalli; Temporal range: Late Albian,
	Artist's reconstruction
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Genus:	†Huehuecuetzpalli; Reynoso, 1998
Type species
	†Huehuecuetzpalli mixtecus; Reynoso 1998

Huehuecuetzpalli mixtecus is an extinct lizard from the Early Cretaceous (late Albian) Tlayúa Formation in Tepexi de Rodríguez, Central Mexico. Although it is not the oldest known lizard, Huehuecuetzpalli may be amongst the most basal members of Squamata (the group that includes lizards and snakes), making it an important taxon in understanding the origins of squamates.^[1]

The generic name comes from the Nahuatl words huehuetl ("the ancient") and cuetzpalli ("lizard"), while the specific name refers to the La Mixteca region.^[1]

^ ^a ^b Reynoso, V.-H. (29 March 1998). "Huehuecuetzpalli mixtecus gen. et sp. nov: a basal squamate (Reptilia) from the Early Cretaceous of Tepexi de Rodríguez, Central México". Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. 353 (1367): 477–500. doi:10.1098/rstb.1998.0224. JSTOR 56466. PMC 1692218.

[reynoso1998-1] Reynoso, V.-H. (29 March 1998). "Huehuecuetzpalli mixtecus gen. et sp. nov: a basal squamate (Reptilia) from the Early Cretaceous of Tepexi de Rodríguez, Central México". Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. 353 (1367): 477–500. doi:10.1098/rstb.1998.0224. JSTOR 56466. PMC 1692218.

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