Scincomorpha (Infraorder)

Overview

Scincomorpha is an infraorder of saurians.

Eutropis macularia

Media related to Scincomorpha at Wikimedia Commons Data related to Scincomorpha at Wikispecies

Taxonomy

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

Domain: Eukaryota Whittaker & Margulis,1978 - eukaryotes
- Kingdom: Animalia C. Linnaeus, 1758 - animals
  - Subkingdom: Bilateria (Hatschek, 1888) Cavalier-Smith, 1983 - bilaterians
    - Branch: Deuterostomia Grobben, 1908 - Deuterostomes
      - Infrakingdom: Chordonia (Haeckel, 1874) Cavalier-Smith, 1998
        Phylum: Chordata Bateson, 1885 - Chordates
        Subphylum: Vertebrata Cuvier, 1812 - Vertebrates
        Infraphylum: Gnathostomata auct. - Jawed Vertebrates
        Superclass: Tetrapoda Goodrich, 1930 - Tetrapods
        Class: Sauropsida
        Subclass: Diapsida
        Infraclass: Lepidosauromorpha
        Superorder: Lepidosauria
        Order: Squamata (SKWA-ma-tuh) - snakes, lizards, and amphisbaenians
        Suborder: Lacertilia
        Infraorder: Scincomorpha

The Infraorder Scincomorpha is further organized into finer groupings including:

Family (8): Cordylidae · Dibamidae · Gerrhosauridae · Gymnophthalmidae · Lacertidae · Scincidae · Teiidae · Xantusiidae

Families

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Cordylidae

Cordylidae is a family of small to medium sized lizards that occur in southern and eastern Africa. They are commonly known as "Girdled", Spinytail lizards or Girdle-tail lizards. [more]

Dibamidae

[more]

Gerrhosauridae

The Gerrhosauridae is a family of lizards native to Africa and Madagascar. Also known as plated lizards, they live in a range of habitats, from rocky crevices to sand dunes. Their form is variable, with some species having four fully developed limbs, and others with vestigial hind limbs only. Most species are believed to be oviparous. [more]

Gymnophthalmidae

Gymnophthalmidae is a family of lizards, sometimes known as spectacled lizards or microteiids. They are called 'spectacled' because of their transparent lower eyelids, so they can still see with closed eyes. Like most lizards, but unlike geckos, these eyelids are movable. [more]

Lacertidae

Lacertidae is the family of the wall lizards, true lizards, or sometimes simply lacertas, which are native to Europe, Africa, and Asia. The group includes the genus Lacerta, which contains some of the most commonly seen lizard species in Europe. It is a diverse family with hundreds of species in 37 genera. [more]

Scincidae

Skinks are lizards belonging to the family Scincidae. Together with several other lizard families, including Lacertidae (the "true" or wall lizards), they comprise the superfamily or infraorder Scincomorpha. With about 1200 described species, the Scincidae are the second most diverse family of lizards, exceeded only by the Gekkonidae (or geckos). [more]

Teiidae

[more]

Xantusiidae

Night lizards (family name Xantusiidae) are a group of very small, viviparous (live-bearing) lizards, averaging from less than 4 cm to over 12 cm long. The family has only three genera, with approximately 23 living species. The genera are divided by geographic range: Xantusia in southwestern North America and Baja California, Cricosaura in Cuba, and Lepidophyma, the most populous night lizard genus, in Central America. [more]

At least 59 species and subspecies belong to the Family Xantusiidae.

More info about the Family Xantusiidae may be found here.

Sources

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