Pumilia novaceki is an extinct iguanid that lived in what is now Palm Springs, California, from the Blancan to Irvingtonian stages of the Pliocene to Early Pleistocene.

Pumilia
Temporal range: Blancan to Irvingtonian, 4.75–1.8 Ma
P. novaceki (top) and Phrynosoma mcallii (bottom)
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Iguania
Family: Iguanidae
Genus: Pumilia
Species:
P. novaceki
Binomial name
Pumilia novaceki
Norell, 1989

It is currently known from a partially crushed skull. Features of the skull show both basal iguanian features, and characters very similar to the extant Iguana, suggesting that the living animal may have resembled a juvenile green iguana.

Etymology

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The genus name, Pumilia, means "diminutive" in Latin, in reference to how the living animal would have resembled a very small iguana. The specific name honors Michael J. Novacek, a colleague and friend of the describer, Mark Norell.

See also

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References

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