'Jesus Lizard' Discovered: 48 Million Year Old Fossil Reveals Evolution of This Reptile

First Posted: Jul 02, 2015 07:39 AM EDT

A newly-discovered lizard may have walked on water. Scientists have uncovered a 48-million-year-old fossil of a "Jesus lizard" that may shed some light on how climate change may impact tropical species.

Modern relatives of the fossilized lizard live in an area stretching from central Mexico to northern Colombia, flourishing in the higher temperatures found at the equator. Members of various animal, plant, fungal, and other clades currently confined to the tropics or subtropical areas are often found in fossil records at mid-to-high latitudes from warm periods in Earth history.

In this case, the fossil is actually a species named Babibasiliscus alxi. This lizard may actually represent the earliest clear member of the Jesus lizard group. This group also includes iguanas and chameleons, but remains poorly understood due to the small number of fossils available for study.

It's likely that this particular species was active during the day and spent a lot of its time in trees. A ridge of bone on the skull gave it an "angry" look while at the same time providing shade for its eyes. In addition, each of its small teeth had three points that were suitable for eating snakes, lizards, fish, insects and plants.

"Given our current period of global fluctuation, looking to the fossil record offers an important opportunity to observe what is possible, and may give us an idea of what to expect from our dynamic Earth," said Jack Conrad, one of the researchers, in a news release.

The findings are published in the journal PLOS One.

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TagsLizard, Fossil, fossils, Reptile