Monstersauria
Encyclopedia
Monstersauria is a clade
of Varanoid lizards, defined as all taxa more closely related to Heloderma
than Varanus. It includes Heloderma, as well as several extinct taxa, such as Estesia
and Gobiderma
.
Clade
A clade is a group consisting of a species and all its descendants. In the terms of biological systematics, a clade is a single "branch" on the "tree of life". The idea that such a "natural group" of organisms should be grouped together and given a taxonomic name is central to biological...
of Varanoid lizards, defined as all taxa more closely related to Heloderma
Heloderma
Heloderma, the only genus of the family Helodermatidae, consists of venomous lizards native to the southwestern United States, Mexico and as far south as Guatemala. It includes two separate species, with six subspecies...
than Varanus. It includes Heloderma, as well as several extinct taxa, such as Estesia
Estesia
Estesia is an extinct genus of Late Cretaceous helodermatoid lizard found in the Gobi Desert in Mongolia. It was discovered in June 1990 by a joint expedition made up of Mongolian and American palaeontologists, and described in 1992 by Mark Norell, Malcolm McKenna and Michael Novacek...
and Gobiderma
Gobiderma
Gobiderma is an extinct genus of Late Cretaceous lizard whose fossils are known from the Gobi Desert in southern Mongolia. It was first discovered as a result of a joint Polish-Mongolian Paleontological Expedition, and formally named in 1984...
.