In recent years the Late Cretaceous (Santonian) terrestrial vertebrate locality at
Iharkut (western Hungary) has yielded well-preserved remains of lizard taxa besides
the remains of fishes, amphibians, turtles, crocodiles, pterosaurs and dinosaurs.
Previously the polyglyphanodontine lizard Bicuspidon aff. hatzegiensis has been reported
from Iharkut. However, recent excavations at this site produced more lacertilian remains
including new polyglyphanodontine material, namely a maxilla and two dentaries which
suggest the presence of a new genus in the Iharkut fauna. This previously unknown
lizard (described here as Distortodon rhomboideus n. g. n. sp.) is distinct from other
polyglyphanodontines such as Bicuspidon, Paraglyphanodon, Polyglyphanodon, Dicothodon
and Peneteius. It differs from these genera mainly in having the lingual cusp situated
more distally compared to the labial one on its bicuspid teeth located in the distal
part of the tooth row, thus the crowns having a unique rhomboidal shape in occlusal
view. Distortodon rhomboideus further strengthens the dominance of borioteiioid lizards
in the Iharkut fauna. The growing presence of borioteiioids in European localities
supports previous theories which suggest some paleobiogeographic connections between
the western Tethyan archipelago and North America in the Late Cretaceous. (C) 2013
Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
