Aiolosaurus

Aiolosaurus is an extinct genus of monitor lizard from the Late Cretaceous of Mongolia.

The type and only species, Aiolosaurus oriens, was named in 2000 from Ukhaa Tolgod, a rich fossil site in the Campanian-age Djadochta Formation.

Aiolosaurus was named in 2000 on the basis of a single holotype specimen cataloged as IGM 3/171.

[2] Another 2008 analysis supported the placement of Aiolosaurus in Varanidae but did not find it to be a member of Lanthanotinae.

As some of the earliest monitor lizards, Aiolosaurus, Cherminotus, and the related Ovoo are representative of the first evolutionary radiation of varanids.