Recent collection efforts in the upper Campanian (similar to 76-73.5 Ma) Fruitland
and Kirtland formations of northwestern New Mexico have significantly increased the
taxonomic diversity of lizards in this historically poorly understood squamate assemblage.
New lizard specimens from the "Hunter Wash Local Fauna" of the upper Fruitland and
lower Kirtland formations include: (1) new specimens referable to Chamopsiidae; (2)
new material belonging to Scincomorpha, (3) new material belonging to Anguidae; and
(4) the first reported predatory lizard (Platynota) material from the Campanian of
New Mexico. The increase in lizard diversity in the "Hunter Wash Local Fauna" expands
our understanding of Late Cretaceous squamate taxonomy, distribution, and diversity
in the Western Interior of North America (Laramidia). Collectively, the described
specimens represent family-level diversity similar to that seen in other Campanian
foreland basin deposits of the Western Interior, such as the mid-paleolatitude Kaiparowits
Formation of southern Utah, the higher paleolatitude Dinosaur Park Formation of southern
Alberta, and the lower paleolatitude Aguja Formation of southwestern Texas. The lizards
of the "Hunter Wash Local Fauna" represent crucial mid-paleolatitude data from a coastal
plain depositional setting in Laramidia-allowing for comparisons to more well-studied
assemblages at different latitudes and in different depositional settings.
