Paleoanguimorpha

Paleoanguimorpha is a clade of anguimorphs comprising Shinisauria (represented today by shinisaurids) and Goannasauria (represented today by Varanoidea which includes the families Lanthanotidae and Varanidae).^{[1][2][3][4][5]} Morphological studies in the past also classified helodermatids and pythonomorphs with the varanoids in the clade Platynota,^[6][7] while the Chinese crocodile lizard was classified as a xenosaurid.^[8] Current molecular work finds no support in these groupings and instead has found the helodermatids more related to Diploglossa in the sister clade Neoanguimorpha, while the Chinese crocodile lizard is the closet living relative to varanoids.^[2][3] Pythonomorphs represented by snakes today are not closely related to varanoids and are instead a sister lineage to Anguimorpha and Iguania in the clade Toxicofera.^[1][3]

Paleoanguimorpha Temporal range: Aptian – Present, 125–0 Ma PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N
Chinese crocodile lizard (Shinisaurus crocodilurus)
Lace monitor (Varanus varius)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Suborder:	Anguimorpha
Infraorder:	Paleoanguimorpha
Subclades
Shinisauria Goannasauria †Aiolosaurus? †Estesia? †Gobiderma? †Palaeosaniwa? Varanoidea

Below is the phylogeny of the paleoanguimorph lineages after Pyron et al. (2013):^[3]

Paleoanguimorpha	Shinisauria Shinisauridae (Chinese crocodile lizard) Varanoidea Lanthanotidae (earless monitor lizard) Varanidae (monitor lizards)

See also

• Neoanguimorpha
• Platynota