Ovoo
Name: Ovoo
(maned after the cairns (rock piles) that mark trails in
Mongolia).
Phonetic: Oh-vu.
Named By: M. A. Norell, K.-Q. Gao &
J. Conrad - 2007.
Classification: Chordata, Reptilia, Squamata,
Varanidae.
Species: O. gurvel (type).
Diet: Carnivore/Insectivore.
Size: Unknown due to lack of fossil remains.
Known locations: Mongolia - Djadokhta Formation.
Time period: Campanian of the Cretaceous.
Fossil representation: Partial skull.
Although only known from a partial skull, Ovoo represents not only one of the smallest monitor lizards to ever live, but also one of the earliest appearances of a monitor lizard. Unfortunately because Ovoo is only known from an incomplete skull, it is very difficult to estimate the full body size of Ovoo because body proportions and lengths amongst different monitor lizards can vary a lot.
Further reading
- A New Platynotan Lizard (Diapsida: Squamata) from the Late
Cretaceous Gobi Desert (�mn�gov), Mongolia. - American Museum
Novitates (3605)1-22. - M. A. Norell, K.-Q. Gao
&
J. Conrad - 2007.
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