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Description
The 1.5m Bataaroderma was the largest Squamate so far uncovered from the Early Oligocene Hsanda Gol Formation. This animal was a member of the carnivorous lizard clade Helodermatoidea, part of the Anguimorph group along with Varanids and their kin. Helodermatoids are rather scarce on Our Earth, with the North American Gila Monster and Mexican Beaded Lizard being the only living representatives. However, based on phylogenetic studies, Helodermatoids must have branched off during the Middle Cretaceous at least but have a very poor fossil record; this situation is similar to the quite closely related Earless Water Monitor from Our Earth. On Alter Earth, this group still has a poor fossil record, albeit not as terrible. Helodermatoid-like fossils have been described from several Eocene sites in North America and Asia, but these are fragmentary and not much can said for certain about them other than the fact that they were carnivorous Anguimorphs with Gila Monster-like features.

The Early Oligocene Bataaroderma, however, was another case entirely. Described on the basis of a single 50% specimen, this animal was unquestionably a Helodermatid very similar to those from Our Earth. The main difference was its size and place of origin; this ferocious predator measured 1.5m long, weighed in at roughly 15kg and dwelt in Semi-Arid Mongolia. A putative Helodermatoid ancestor, Peraderma belottii, lived in Late Cretaceous Asia and may have been a forerunner of Bataaroderma. Even in Holocene Alter Earth, Helodermatids are native to both Asia and North America, preferring hot, arid environments. Like the Gila Monster, B. ingens was a carnivore and preyed upon other lizards, snakes and mammals; in this case the Boreoeutherian Ancillasorex has met an unfortunate end.

Description
The 1.5m Bataaroderma was the largest Squamate so far uncovered from the Early Oligocene Hsanda Gol Formation. This animal was a member of the carnivorous lizard clade Helodermatoidea, part of the Anguimorph group along with Varanids and their kin. Helodermatoids are rather scarce on Our Earth, with the North American Gila Monster and Mexican Beaded Lizard being the only living representatives. However, based on phylogenetic studies, Helodermatoids must have branched off during the Middle Cretaceous at least but have a very poor fossil record; this situation is similar to the quite closely related Earless Water Monitor from Our Earth. On Alter Earth, this group still has a poor fossil record, albeit not as terrible. Helodermatoid-like fossils have been described from several Eocene sites in North America and Asia, but these are fragmentary and not much can said for certain about them other than the fact that they were carnivorous Anguimorphs with Gila Monster-like features.

The Early Oligocene Bataaroderma, however, was another case entirely. Described on the basis of a single 50% specimen, this animal was unquestionably a Helodermatid very similar to those from Our Earth. The main difference was its size and place of origin; this ferocious predator measured 1.5m long, weighed in at roughly 15kg and dwelt in Semi-Arid Mongolia. A putative Helodermatoid ancestor, Peraderma belottii, lived in Late Cretaceous Asia and may have been a forerunner of Bataaroderma. Even in Holocene Alter Earth, Helodermatids are native to both Asia and North America, preferring hot, arid environments. Like the Gila Monster, B. ingens was a carnivore and preyed upon other lizards, snakes and mammals; in this case the Boreoeutherian Ancillasorex has met an unfortunate end.