Gobekko cretacicus + Gekkota

Conrad, J. L., 2008, Phylogeny And Systematics Of Squamata (Reptilia) Based On Morphology, Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 2008 (310), pp. 1-182 : 94

Gobekko cretacicus + Gekkota

(figs. 54B, 55B, 56A)

DIAGNOSIS: Gekkota and Gobekko cretacicus are united by 77(3) absence of a pineal foramen, 159(3) quadrate suspended mostly from the opisthotic, and 181(2) closed and fused Meckel’s canal.

COMMENTS: The phylogenetic placement of Gobekko cretacicus has been cladistically analyzed only for the first time recently. A preliminary analysis of its relationships suggested the placement of this taxon as the sister-group to Gekkota ( Conrad, 2005a), a view supported here. However, another recent study has suggested that Gobekko cretacicus falls within the gekkotan crown group ( Conrad and Norell, 2006a), with the implication that crown-group gekkotans have been distinct since the Cretaceous. Gobekko cretacicus is known from an incomplete skull. A new study of the specimen and/ or the discovery of more complete remains might help to more confidently place this animal in the context of gekkonomorph evolution.