Lepidosaurs
Rhynchocephalians
Research
A study on the morphological diversity and rates of morphological evolution of extinct and extant rhynchocephalians is published by Herrera-Flores, Stubbs & Benton (2017); the study is subsequently criticized by Vaux et al. (2019). A study on the bone histology and growth of the Jurassic pleurosaurid Palaeopleurosaurus is published by Klein & Scheyer (2017). Jaws of Clevosaurus brasiliensis affected by osteomyelitis are described from the Late Triassic (Norian) Candelária Sequence of the Santa Maria Supersequence (Brazil) by Romo-de-Vivar-Martínez et al. (2017).
New taxa
Lizards and snakes
Research
A study comparing inner ear morphology of Dinilysia patagonica and extant lizards and snakes is published by Palci et al. (2017). An overview of the discoveries of Mesozoic lizards from Brazil is published by Simões et al. (2017). A study on the origins of the Australian fauna of lizards and snakes is published by Oliver & Hugall (2017). A study on the nomenclature and phylogenetic relationships of the lizard species assigned to the genus Necrosaurus is published by Georgalis (2017), who assigns the species Necrosaurus cayluxi and Melanosauroides giganteus to the genus Palaeovaranus and names a new family Palaeovaranidae. A study on the anatomy and phylogenetic relationships of Eichstaettisaurus schroederi and Ardeosaurus digitatellus is published by Simões et al. (2017). A redescription of the anatomy of the holotype specimen of the teiid species Callopistes bicuspidatus from the late Miocene–early Pliocene of Argentina is published by Brizuela & Albino (2017). An almost complete skull and a few associated postcranial bones of the lacertid Dracaenosaurus croizeti are described from the Oligocene locality of Cournon (south-central France) by Čerňanský et al. (2017). A description of the anatomy of the postcranial skeleton of the putative stem-amphisbaenian Slavoia darevskii and a study on its implications for the evolution of the postcranial skeleton of amphisbaenians is published by Tałanda (2017). Description of a new specimen of Geiseltaliellus maarius from the Eocene Messel pit (Germany), preserving details of the squamation, is published by Smith (2017). A study testing whether extant anole species adapted to similar ecological niches have similar semicircular canal morphologies, as well as a reconstruction of the vestibular system in five Miocene anoles from the Dominican Republic and a study on their ecology is published by Dickson et al. (2017). An autotomized tail of a shinisaurid is described from the Eocene Messel pit (Germany) by Smith (2017). Fossils of a monitor lizard are described from the middle Pleistocene of Greece by Georgalis, Villa & Delfino (2017), representing the most recent known record of the family Varanidae from Europe. A study on the phylogenetic relationships of members of Mosasauroidea is published by Simões et al. (2017). A study on the robustness of the hypotheses about mosasauroid phylogenetic relationships and a reevaluation of the dataset from the study of Simões et al. (2017) is published by Madzia & Cau (2017). A revision of mosasauroids from the Upper Cretaceous marine sediments associated with Gondwanan landmasses is published by Jiménez-Huidobro, Simões & Caldwell (2017). A redescription of Mosasaurus hoffmannii based on examination of many specimens is published by Street & Caldwell (2017), who also provide emended diagnoses for both the genus Mosasaurus and its type species M. hoffmannii. A study on the presence of ligamentous tooth attachment in mosasaurs and in fossil and modern snakes is published by LeBlanc, Lamoureux & Caldwell (2017). A pachyostotic marine squamate specimen belonging to the family Pachyophiidae, consisting of 29 vertebrae, is described from the Upper Cretaceous (Turonian) of Bosnia and Herzegovina by Đurić et al. (2017). An overview of the snake fossil record from Brazil is published by Onary, Fachini & Hsiou (2017). A redescription of the type material of Gigantophis garstini, a reevaluation of referred material from North Africa and Pakistan, and a study on the phylogenetic relationships of Gigantophis and other madtsoiids is published by Rio & Mannion (2017). Snake fossils, including the first record of an indigenous member of the genus Pantherophis in West Indies and the first reported member of the genus Nerodia in the fossil record of West Indies, are described from the late Pleistocene of the Bahamas by Mead & Steadman (2017). A large viperine snake assigned to the genus Macrovipera is reported from the early Vallesian of Romania by Codrea et al.
