Lizards of the family Hodzhakuliidae (Scincomorpha) from the lower Cretaceous of Mongolia

The lizard family Hodzhakuliidae (Scincomorpha) endemic to the Early Cretaceous of Central Asia is characterized in the light of finds from the Khoobur (Höövör) locality in Mongolia. Available material includes Hodzhakulia magna Nessov, 1985 described from the Upper Albian of Uzbekistan and three new genera and species. It is proposed that Hodzhakuliidae occupied the adaptive zone of small carnivorous predators before the appearance of Platynota.