A scientist says the fossil is 'one of the most important found in the last few decades'.
A new discovery suggests lizards have existed for 35 million years longer than previously thought.
It was thought lizards originated from the later Middle Jurassic period but the new findings show they lived in the Late Triassic period .The fossil impacts all estimates of the origin of lizards and snakes, together called the Squamata, and affects assumptions about their rates of evolution. The team has named its discovery Cryptovaranoides microlanius, meaning 'small butcher', in reference to its jaws, which are filled with sharp-edged slicing teeth.Dr Whiteside, from Bristol's School of Earth Sciences, first spotted the specimen in a cupboard full of Clevosaurus fossils.
"As we continued to investigate the specimen, we became more and more convinced that it was actually more closely related to modern day lizards than the Tuatara group."Modern technology enabled scientists to see the features that make the fossil a lizard
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