A new varanoid fossil from the Cenomanian of the Middle East (Israel)

I named and described a new marine varanoid on the basis of a partial skull recovered from the Middle Cenomanian of the Judean Hills. The new taxon possesses a unique suite of plesiomorhic and derived characters exhibited in terrestrial varanoid lizards on one hand and derived mosasauroids on the other. Plesiomorphic characters include anteriorly depressed maxillae underlying the nasal capsule, broad and low premaxilla, vertically oriented parietal rami, and possesses a unique syndesmotically nested supratemporal-parietal contact. Derived characters include a typical mosasauroid question-marked shaped quadrate, intramandibular joint with vertical orientation of the posterior dentary, and moderately retracted nares. The dentition exhibits elongate and narrow cylindrical roots lacking resorption pits, a condition reminiscent of Coniasaurus, but possesses small moderately recurved subconical crowns. Taken together, the new taxon possesses a suite of characters suggesting dolichosaurid affinities, although the information currently available is insufficient to determine the exact phylogenetic relationships of this specimen with other dolichosaurs.