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Cherminotus is an extinct genus of monitor lizard from the Late Cretaceous of Mongolia. The type and only species, Cherminotus longifrons, was named in 1984.
| Cherminotus Temporal range: Late Cretaceous, | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | Squamata |
| Family: | Varanidae |
| Genus: | †Cherminotus Borsuk-Bialynicka, 1984 |
| Species: | †C. longifrons |
| Binomial name | |
| †Cherminotus longifrons Borsuk-Bialynicka, 1984 | |
Cherminotus longifrons was first described in 1984 from the Barun Goyot Formation. More specimens were later found in the Djadokhta Formation in localities such as Ukhaa Tolgod.[1]
Cherminotus is small for a monitor lizard and has a longer snout than its closest relative, the living Earless monitor lizard. Cherminotus is also very similar in appearance to Aiolosaurus, another monitor from the Cretaceous of Mongolia. Both monitors have a single hole in the lacrimal bone called the lacrimal foramen. Other monitors and monitor ancestors have two holes in the lacrimal, making the presence of only one hole in Cherminotus a case of evolutionary reversal.[2]
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