A “Hoplite (armed) lizard” from Early Cretaceous Calico Canyon, South Dakota, USA.

This lizard is said to have been named for the hoplites, the name for the heavily armored infantry of ancient Greece. It is also said that it is called, “shield-carrier lizard” from the Greek hoplites, “armed foot-soldier, shield [hoplon] carrier”.

Other sources say that the fossil’s name means “shield-carrier lizard” based on the Greek hoplites, “shield (hoplon) carrier”. It was found in South Dakota in 1901 and named in 1902 by Frederic Augustus Lucas (1852-1929).