Scientists Discover Bizarre Armored “Monster” Stalked the Forests of Prehistoric Utah

The discovery of Bolg amondol, a name drawn from J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings, sheds new light on the complex evolutionary history of giant Gila Monster relatives. A raccoon-sized armored lizard newly identified from Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument in southern Utah highlights the unexpected variety of these giant reptiles during the height of the [...]

from SciTechDaily https://ift.tt/Bf531ZF