Several teiid specimens (frontal, vertebra, maxillae) are described from the late
Eocene of Europe (MP17, Phosphorites du Quercy). The results of phylogenetic analyses
confirm that these European Eocene fossils belong to teiid lizards and more specifically
to the subfamily Tupinambinae. So far, the Paleogene record of teiids is limited to
South America and no occurrence of crown teiids is known in Europe. This disjunct
distribution of teiids during the Eocene suggests transatlantic dispersal and this
possibility is discussed. The presence of teiids in the European fossil record is
brief (limited to standard level MP17). The circumstances that prevented the persistence
of an invading clade in Europe are examined. Ecological (e.g. biotic interactions)
and/or demographic (Allee effect) processes may have been involved.
