Pamizinsaurus

Pamizinsaurus is a genus of sphenodontian reptile known from Lower Cretaceous (Albian) Tlayúa Formation of central Mexico.

[2] The fossil was covered in small round osteoscutes, unique among known sphenodontians but similar to those of helodermatid lizards like the Gila monster, which probably served to protect it from predators.

[1] The holotype and only known specimen of Pamizinsaurus (IGM 6854), a juvenile, was discovered in strata from the Middle Member of the Tlayúa Formation,[1] a Lagerstätte near Tepexi de Rodríguez in Central Mexico known for its vertebrate fossils.

The genus name comes from the Nahuatl pamizintli ("with corn on top"), referring to the rows of osteoderms covering its body, and the Latin saurus ("reptile").

[1] Reynoso (1997) argued that Pamizinsaurus was a genus of the subfamily Sphenodontinae; grouping it with the modern Sphenodon (better known as the tuatara), Zapatadon, Cynosphenodon, Homoeosaurus, Sapheosaurus, and Ankylosphenodon.

[1] Details of Pamizinsaurus' axial skeleton are difficult to discern, as much of the body is covered in osteoderms and calcified soft tissue.