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,
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|---|---|
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| P. novaceki (top) and Phrynosoma mcallii (bottom) | |
Scientific classification 
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | Squamata |
| Suborder: | Iguania |
| Family: | Iguanidae |
| Genus: | †Pumilia |
| Species: | †P. novaceki
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| Binomial name | |
| †Pumilia novaceki Norell, 1989
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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 edit
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 edit
References edit
- Norell, Mark (December 19, 1989), "Late Cenozoic Lizards of the Anza Borrego Desert, California" Contributions in Science, No. 414, Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, Los Angeles, CA
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