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Iguania

(Infraorder)

Overview

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Iguania is the suborder of that contains the iguanas, chameleons, agamids, and "New World lizards" such as anoles and Phrynosomatidae.

Photos

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Taxonomy

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The Infraorder Iguania is a member of the Suborder Lacertilia. Here is the complete "parentage" of Iguania:

The Infraorder Iguania is further organized into finer groupings including:

Families

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Agamidae

Agamids, lizards of the Agamidae, include more than 300 species in Africa, Asia, Australia, and a few in Southern Europe. Phylogenetically they may be sister to the Iguanidae, and have a similar appearance. Agamids usually have well-developed, strong legs. Their tails cannot be shed and regenerated like those of geckoes, though a certain amount of regeneration is observed in some. Many agamid species are capable of limited change of their colors. They inhabit warm environments, ranging from hot deserts to tropical rainforests. [more]

Chamaeleonidae

Chameleons (family Chamaeleonidae) are that belong to one of the best-known lizard families. The word is the Latinized form of the Ancient Greek ?aµa????? (khamaileon), from ?aµa? (khamai) "on the earth, on the ground" + ???? (leon) "lion", translating the Akkadian neš qaqqari, "ground lion". [more]

Corytophanidae

Corytophanidae is a of lizards also called casque head lizards or helmeted lizards. They typically have well-developed head crests in the shape of a casque. This crest is a sexually dimorphic characteristic, found only on males. There are 9 known species of casque heads from 3 genera. [more]

Crotaphytidae

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Hoplocercidae

[more]

Iguanidae

The Iguanidae is a family of , composed of iguanas and related species. [more]

Leiosauridae

[more]

Opluridae

The Opluridae, or Madagascan Iguanas, are a family of moderately sized lizards native to . The family includes species that live amongst rocks, some that live in trees, and one that inhabits sand dunes. All of the species lay eggs, and have teeth that resemble those of the true iguanas. [more]

Phrynosomatidae

Phrynosomatidae is a diverse family of , found from Panama to the extreme south of Canada. Many members of the group are adapted to life in hot, sandy deserts, although the spiny lizards prefer rocky deserts or even relatively moist forest edges, and the short-horned lizard lives in prarie or sagebrush environments. The group includes both egg-laying and viviparous species, with the latter being more common in species living at high elevation. [more]

Polychrotidae

Polychrotidae is a family of commonly known as Anoles . Some authorities (such as NCBI [1]) place the anoles in subfamily Polychrotinae of the family Iguanidae. Four genera are common: Anolis, Norops, Phenacosaurus and Polychrus. [more]

Tropiduridae

The Tropiduridae is a family of lizards native to and the West Indies. Most are ground-dwelling animals, and the family includes some lizards adapted to relatively cold climates, including those of the Andes mountains and Tierra del Fuego. Several species give birth to live young. [more]

At least 535 species and subspecies belong to the Family Tropiduridae.

More info about the Family Tropiduridae may be found here.

Sources

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Last Revised: November 19, 2008