This list of fossil reptiles described in 2020 is a list of new taxa of fossil reptiles that were described during the year 2020, as well as other significant discoveries and events related to reptile paleontology that occurred in 2020.
Lizards and snakes
New taxa Name Novelty Status Authors Age Type locality Country Notes Images Boipeba Gen. et sp. nov Fachini et al. Late Cretaceous Adamantina A snake belonging to the group Scolecophidia. The type species is B. tayasuensis. Borealoilysia Gen. et sp. nov Valid Head Middle Eocene Bridger () An aniliid snake. Genus includes new species B. gunnelli. Announced in 2020; the final version of the article naming was published in 2021. Bothriagenys flectomendax Sp. nov In press Wick & Shiller Late Cretaceous (early Campanian) Aguja () A member of Borioteiioidea of uncertain phylogenetic placement. Calumma benovskyi Sp. nov Čerňanský et al. Early Miocene Hiwegi A chameleon, a species of Calumma Chalcides augei Sp. nov Valid Čerňanský et al. Early middle Miocene A skink, a species of Chalcides. Announced in 2019; the final version of the article naming it was published in 2020. Eoconstrictor Gen. et comb. nov Valid Scanferla & Smith Eocene Messel A booid snake. The type species is "Palaeopython" fischeri Schaal (2004). Epileolis Gen. et sp. nov Valid Alifanov Late Paleocene A lizard belonging to the family Agamidae. Genus includes new species E. reshetovi. Gavialimimus Gen. et sp. nov Valid Strong et al. Late Cretaceous A mosasaur belonging to the subfamily Plioplatecarpinae. Genus includes new species G. almaghribensis. Bardet et al. (2025) interpreted Platecarpus (?) ptychodon Arambourg (1952) as a probable senior synonym of G. almaghribensis, resulting in a new combination Gavialimimus ptychodon. Gnathomortis Gen. et comb. nov Valid Lively Late Cretaceous (middle Campanian) () A mosasaur belonging to the family Mosasauridae; a new genus for "Prognathodon" stadtmani Kass (1999). Hydrargysaurus Gen. et sp. nov In press Wick & Shiller Late Cretaceous (early Campanian) Aguja () A member or a relative of the group Borioteiioidea. Genus includes new species H. gladius. Hypostylos Gen. et sp. nov In press Wick & Shiller Late Cretaceous (early Campanian) Aguja () A member of Scincomorpha belonging to the "paramacellodid"/cordylid grade. Genus includes new species H. lehmani. Kopidosaurus Gen. et sp. nov Scarpetta Eocene Willwood () A member of Pleurodonta of uncertain phylogenetic placement. The type species is K. perplexus. Messelopython Gen. et sp. nov Valid Zaher & Smith Eocene Messel pit A stem pythonid snake. Genus includes new species M. freyi. Neokotus Gen. et sp. nov Valid Bittencourt et al. Early Cretaceous (Valanginian) Quiricó A lizard belonging to the family Paramacellodidae. The type species is N. sanfranciscanus. Vipera latastei ebusitana Subsp. nov Valid Torres-Roig et al. Pleistocene–Holocene A viper, a subspecies of Vipera latastei.
Research New fossil material of squamates is described from the Upper Cretaceous Fruitland and Kirtland formations (New Mexico, United States) by Woolley, Smith & Sertich (2020), expanding known taxonomic and morphological diversity of lizards within the "Hunter Wash Local Fauna". A study on the affinities of putative gekkotan eggshells from the Late Cretaceous of Europe is published by Choi et al. (2020), who interpret the fossil material of Pseudogeckoolithus as theropod eggshells. Fossils of tupinambine teiids are described from the late Eocene of the Quercy Phosphorites Formation (France) by Louis & Santiago (2020), representing the first record of this family from the Paleogene of Europe. A dentary of a cnemidophorine teiid is described from the Miocene of the Ogallala Group (Nebraska, United States) by Scarpetta (2020), who evaluates the implications of this specimen for the knowledge of the evolutionary history of cnemidophorines in North America during the Neogene. The first known fossil example of an iguana nesting burrow is reported from the Pleistocene Grotto Beach Formation (The Bahamas) by Martin et al. (2020). A study on the anatomy of the skull of Ophisaurus acuminatus, and on the taxonomic validity of this species, is published by Klembara & Čerňanský (2020). Fossil material of the monitor lizards is reported for the first time from the late Miocene localities in Armenia and Georgia by Vasilyan & Bukhsianidze (2020). A study on the evolutionary history of mosasauroids, comparing their evolutionary rates and traits to those of plesiosaurs and aiming to determine whether the rise and diversification of mosasauroids was influenced by competition with or disappearance of some plesiosaur taxa, is published by Madzia & Cau (2020). Grigoriev & Grabovskiy (2020) describe new fossil material of a tylosaurine from the Upper Cretaceous (Turonian) of the Chukotka Region (Russia), representing one of the oldest and northernmost mosasaur records reported so far, and evaluate the implications of this fossil material (as well as mosasaur fossils from the Santonian of the Komi Republic and from the Campanian–Maastrichtian of the Sakhalin Island) for the knowledge of the paleogeography and possible migrations of Arctic mosasaurs. A study on pathological features of a specimen of Prognathodon (belonging or related to the species P. sectorius) from the Maastrichtian Gulpen Formation (the Netherlands) is published by Bastiaans et al. (2020), who consider it most likely that this specimen was bitten in the snout by a large, possibly conspecific mosasaur, making it one of the few specimens with unambiguous evidence of agonistic interactions amongst mosasaurs. A study on the morphology of the snout of Taniwhasaurus antarcticus, indicating the presence of a complex internal neurovascular system of branched channels similar to systems present in extant aquatic vertebrates such as cetaceans and crocodiles, is published by Álvarez–Herrera, Agnolin & Novas (2020). Zietlow (2020) recovers growth series of Tylosaurus proriger and T. nepaeolicus, and tests the hypothesis that T. kansasensis represent juveniles of T. nepaeolicus. Redescription of Palaeophis oweni is published by Georgalis, Del Favero & Delfino (2020). Eocene snake vertebrae from Landana and Sassa-Zao (Angola), originally referred to Palaeophis aff. typhaeus, are assigned to the species Palaeophis africanus by Folie et al. (2020), who interpret these fossils as confirming the aquatic capabilities of palaeophiid snakes, and evaluate the implications of these fossils for the debate on the existence of primitive and advanced grades among palaeophiid snakes. New information on the anatomy of the Eocene fossil boas Messelophis variatus and Rieppelophis ermannorum, based on data from new specimens from the Messel pit (Germany), is presented by Scanferla & Smith (2020). Description of new fossil material of Thaumastophis missiaeni from the Eocene Cambay Shale (India) and a study on the phylogenetic relationships of this snake is published by Zaher et al. (2020), who name a new family Thaumastophiidae.
Ichthyosauromorphs
New taxa Name Novelty Status Authors Age Type locality Country Notes Images Acuetzpalin Gen. et sp. nov Valid Barrientos Lara, Alvarado Ortega, & Fernández Late Jurassic La Casita An ichthyosaur belonging to the family Ophthalmosauridae. The type species is A. carranzai. Cymbospondylus duelferi Sp. nov Valid Klein et al. Middle Triassic (Anisian) Favret () Hauffiopteryx altera Sp. nov Valid Maxwell & Cortés Early Jurassic (Toarcian) Posidonia Shale Nannopterygius borealis Sp. nov Valid Zverkov & Jacobs Early Cretaceous (Berriasian) Thalassodraco Gen. et sp. nov Valid Jacobs & Martill Late Jurassic (Tithonian) Kimmeridge Clay An ichthyosaur belonging to the family Ophthalmosauridae. The type species is T. etchesi.
Research Partial trunk region of the largest hupehsuchian reported so far is described from the Early Triassic of Hubei, China by Qiao, Iijima & Liu (2020), who interpret this specimen as evidence of early establishment of high predation pressure in the sea after the Permian–Triassic extinction event and before the Middle Triassic. New anatomical features of the holotype specimen of Cartorhynchus lenticarpus revealed by CT scanning, including unique dentition, are reported by Huang et al. (2020), who evaluate the implications of this species for the knowledge of the evolution of tooth morphology and diet in basal ichthyosauriforms. A caudal vertebra of a basal ichthyosauriform similar to grippidians, representing the youngest record of basal ichthyosauriforms to date, is described from the Middle Triassic (Ladinian) of Mallorca (Spain) by Matamales-Andreu et al. (2020). A study on the age of the fossils of Thaisaurus chonglakmanii is published by Tongtherm et al. (2020). A study on the tempo and mode of the morphological evolution of ichthyosaurs is published by Moon & Stubbs (2020). A study on skeletal pathologies in ichthyosaur specimens from the Middle Triassic Besano Formation and the Lower Jurassic Posidonia Shale, evaluating their implications for the knowledge of changing locomotory and behavioural constraints affecting different ichthyosaur taxa through time, is published by Pardo-Pérez, Kear & Maxwell (2020). Two new specimens of Mixosaurus cornalianus, preserving evidence of the presence of a dorsal fin and a well-developed, triangular dorsal lobe of the caudal fin in this species, are described from the Anisian Besano Formation (Italy) by Renesto et al. (2020). Jiang et al. (2020) report the discovery of remains of a thalattosaur belonging to the genus Xinpusaurus in the abdominal region of a specimen of Guizhouichthyosaurus from the Middle Triassic (Ladinian) Zhuganpo Member of the Falang Formation (China), and interpret this finding as likely the oldest evidence for predation on megafauna by marine tetrapods reported so far. A study on the anatomy of the holotype specimen of Temnodontosaurus crassimanus is published by Swaby & Lomax (2020), who consider T. crassimanus to be a valid species. Description of the most complete and best-preserved skeleton of Suevoleviathan integer is published by Maisch (2020). Partial skeleton of an ophthalmosaurid ichthyosaur, found with an ichthyosaur tooth (probably not belonging to the same specimen) stuck on its rib, is described from the Upper Jurassic Rosso Ammonitico Veronese Formation (Italy) by Serafini et al. (2020), possibly representing the first evidence of scavenging between two ichthyosaurs reported so far. A study on the anatomy and phylogenetic relationships of Maiaspondylus lindoei, "Ophthalmosaurus" cantabrigiensis and "Platypterygius" ochevi is published by Zverkov & Grigoriev (2020), who transfer "O". cantabrigiensis to the genus Maiaspondylus, and consider "P. ochevi to be a junior synonym of M. cantabrigiensis. Description of a new specimen of Muiscasaurus catheti from the Aptian Paja Formation (Colombia), providing new information on the anatomy of this taxon, and a study on the phylogenetic relationships of M. catheti is published by Páramo-Fonseca et al. (2020).
Sauropterygians
New taxa Name Novelty Status Authors Age Type locality Country Notes Images Brevicaudosaurus Gen. et sp. nov Valid Shang, Wu & Li Middle Triassic (Ladinian) Falang A member of Nothosauroidea. The type species is B. jiyangshanensis. Jucha Gen. et sp. nov Valid Fischer et al. Early Cretaceous (Hauterivian) Klimovka An elasmosaurid plesiosaur. Genus includes new species J. squalea. Ophthalmothule Gen. et sp. nov Valid Roberts et al. Jurassic-Cretaceous boundary (latest Tithonian/early Berriasian) Agardhfjellet A cryptoclidid plesiosaur. The type species is O. cryostea. Wunyelfia Gen. et sp. nov Valid Otero & Soto-Acuña Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian) Quiriquina An aristonectine elasmosaurid plesiosaur. Genus includes new species W. maulensis. Announced in 2020; the final version of the article naming was published in 2021.
Research