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Iguania

(Infraorder)

Overview

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Iguania is the suborder of Squamata (snakes and lizards) that contains the iguanas, chameleons, agamids, and "New World lizards" such as anoles and Phrynosomatidae. The Iguania were previously believed to form the sister group to the remainder of the Squamata based on morphological characteristics, however molecular information has placed Iguania well within the Squamata as sister taxa to the Anguimorpha and closely related to snakes.1] They are largely arboreal and have primitively fleshy, non-prehensile tongues, but this condition is obviously highly modified in the chameleons. Traditionally, the clade includes the following families:[2]:

Extinct:

More recently, a revised delimitation of families is proposed to be more phylogenetically accurate. Most notably, this reduces the Iguanidae to a core set of taxa, upranking many of its former subfamilies to full iguanian families. See Iguanidae article for further information.

boreal and have primitively fleshy, non-prehensile tongues, but this condition is obviously highly modified in the chameleons. Traditionally, the clade includes the following families:[2]:

Extinct:

More recently, a revised delimitation of families is proposed to be more phylogenetically accurate. Most notably, this reduces the Iguanidae to a core set of taxa, upranking many of its former subfamilies to full iguanian families. See Iguanidae article for further information.

References

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  1. ^ http://www.cnah.org/pdf_files/518.pdf
  2. ^ ITIS http://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=564529

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 family Agamidae, include more than 300 species in Africa, Asia, Australia, and a few in Southern Europe. Many species are commonly called dragons or dragon lizards. [more]

Chamaeleonidae

Chameleons (family Chamaeleonidae) are a distinctive and highly specialized clade of lizards. They are distinguished by their parrot-like zygodactylous feet, their separately mobile and stereoscopic eyes, their very long, highly modified, and rapidly extrudable tongues, their swaying gait, the possession by many of a prehensile tail, crests or horns on their distinctively shaped heads, and the ability of some to change color. Uniquely adapted for climbing and visual hunting, the approximately 160 species of chameleon range from Africa, Madagascar, Spain and Portugal, across south Asia, to Sri Lanka, have been introduced to Hawaii, California and Florida, and are found in warm habitats that vary from rain forest to desert conditions. Chameleons are often kept as household pets. [more]

Corytophanidae

Corytophanidae is a family 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 in males of Basiliscus, but is present in both sexes of Corytophanes and Laemanctus (Pough et al. 2003). In Corytophanes, these crests are used in defensive displays where the lateral aspect of the body is brought about to face a potential predator in an effort to look bigger (Pough et al. 2003). There are 9 known species of casque heads from 3 genera. [more]

Crotaphytidae

[more]

Hoplocercidae

[more]

Iguanidae

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

Leiosauridae

[more]

Opluridae

The Opluridae, or Madagascan iguanas, are a family of moderately sized lizards native to Madagascar. There are seven species in two genera, with most of the species being in Oplurus. 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 lizards, 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 prairie or sagebrush environments. The group includes both egg-laying and viviparous species, with the latter being more common in species living at high elevations. [more]

Polychrotidae

Polychrotidae is a family of lizards commonly known as anoles (). NCBI places the anole in subfamily Polychrotinae of the family Iguanidae. Four genera are common: Anolis, Norops, Phenacosaurus, and Polychrus. [more]

Tropiduridae

The Tropiduridae is a family of iguanid lizards native to South America and the West Indies. Commonly known as Neotropical ground lizards, 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 725 species and subspecies belong to the Family Tropiduridae.

More info about the Family Tropiduridae may be found here.

References

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  1. ^ http://www.cnah.org/pdf_files/518.pdf
  2. ^ ITIS http://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=564529

Sources

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Last Revised: August 24, 2012
2012/08/24 13:19:05