Overview
The Anguidae is a large and diverse family of lizards native to the northern hemisphere. The group includes the , glass lizards, and alligator lizards, among others. Their closest living relatives are the helodermatid lizards.1] They have hard osteoderms beneath their scales, and many of the species have reduced or absent limbs, giving them a snake-like appearance, although others are fully limbed.[2]
Anguids are carnivorous or insectivorous, and inhabit a wide range of different habitats. The group includes both egg-laying and viviparous species. Most species are terrestrial, although some climb trees.[2]
Classification
Family ANGUIDAE
- Subfamily Anguinae
- Genus Anguis - Slow worms (2 species)
- Genus Ophisaurus - Glass lizards (13 species)
- Genus Pseudopus - Scheltopusik (1 species)
- Subfamily Diploglossinae
- Genus Celestus - Galliwasps (28 species)
- Genus Diploglossus - (18 species)
- Genus Ophiodes - Worm lizards (4 species)
- Subfamily Gerrhonotinae - Alligator lizards
- Genus Abronia - Arboreal
Photos
Taxonomy
The Family Anguidae is further organized into finer groupings including:
- Subfamily (3): Anguinae · Diploglossinae · Gerrhonotinae
- Genus (34): Abronia · Anguid · Anguis · Angus · Barisia · Celestus · Coloptychon · Dimetopisaurus · Diploglossus · Elgaria · Eodiploglossus · Eoglyptosaurus · Gerrhonotus · Glyptosaurus · Helodermoides · Hyalosaurus · Machaerosaurus · Melanosaurus · Mesaspis · Odaxosaurus · Opheosaurus · Ophiodes · Ophiosaurus · Ophisauriscus · Ophisaurus · Pancelosaurus · Paragerrhonotus · Parodaxosaurus · Peltosaurus · Placosaurus · Proxestops · Pseudopus · Wetmorena · Xestops
- Species: ZipcodeZoo has pages for 354 species and subspecies in the Family Anguidae.
Genera
Abronia
A genus in the Kingdom Animalia. [more]
Anguid
Anguis
Although they are , slow worms have lost their limbs completely and are often mistaken for snakes. Slow-worms typically grow to between 40 and 50cm, with the females slightly larger than the males. The tail makes up around half of its length, but is indistinguishable from the body. [more]
Angus
Barisia
Celestus
Coloptychon
Dimetopisaurus
Diploglossus
Elgaria
Elgaria is a of lizards that includes several of the alligator lizard species. [more]
Eodiploglossus
Eoglyptosaurus
Gerrhonotus
Gerrhonotus is a of anguid lizards that are commonly referred to as alligator lizards, due to a vague resemblance to the alligator. There are four currently recognized species in the genus: [more]
Glyptosaurus
Helodermoides
Hyalosaurus
Machaerosaurus
Melanosaurus
Mesaspis
Odaxosaurus
Opheosaurus
Ophiodes
Ophiosaurus
Ophisauriscus
Ophisaurus
The glass lizards or glass snakes, Ophisaurus, (from the Greek 'snake-lizard') are a group of reptiles that resemble snakes, but are actually lizards. Although most species have no legs, their head shape and the fact that they have movable eyelids and external ear openings identify them as lizards. A few species have very small stub-like legs near the rear vent. These animals are also known as Glass Snakes or Jointed Snakes. They reach lengths of up to 4 feet (1.2 m), but approximately two-thirds of this is the tail. Glass lizards feed mainly on insects. [more]
Pancelosaurus
Paragerrhonotus
Parodaxosaurus
Peltosaurus
Placosaurus
Proxestops
Pseudopus
Wetmorena
Xestops
More info about the Genus Xestops may be found here.
References
- ^ Fry, B. et al. (February 2006). "Early evolution of the venom system in lizards and snakes" (PDF). Nature 439: 584–588. doi:
- ^ a b Bauer, Aaron M. (1998). Cogger, H.G. & Zweifel, R.G.. ed. Encyclopedia of Reptiles and Amphibians. San Diego: Academic Press. pp. 152–155. ISBN 0-12-178560-2.
Sources
- The text on this page is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It includes material from Wikipedia retrieved Thursday, August 13, 2009.
- The distribution map on the Distribution tab comes from the Global Biodiversity Information Facility and is used with permission.
- Photographs on this page are copyrighted by individual photographers, and individual copyrights apply.
- The GMapImageCutter is used under license from the UCL Centre for Advanced Spatial Analysis.
- The technology underlying this page, including the Image Browser and controls behind Keep Exploring, is owned by the BayScience Foundation. All rights are reserved.