Difference between revisions of "Lizard Classification"

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* '''For more information on the lizard taxonomy, see'''[[Lizard Taxonomy and Identification|Lizard Taxonomy and Identification]].
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* '''For more information on the lizard taxonomy, see''' [[Lizard Taxonomy and Identification|Lizard Taxonomy and Identification]].
  
 
==Families==
 
==Families==

Revision as of 18:21, 15 March 2010



Lizard Classification Table

Chinese water dragon (family Agamidae) (Wikimedia Commons)
Suborder Infraorder Family Common Name Genera Species
Sauria Iguania Agamidae Water Dragons 53 300
Iguanidae Iguanas 55 650
Chamaeleontidae Chameleons 4 85
Gekkota Gekkonidae Geckos 85 800
Pygopodidae Snake lizards 1 31
Scincomorpha Lacertidae Wall and sand lizards 25 200
Teiidae Tegus, whiptails 39 227
Xantusiidae Desert night lizards 1 16
Scincidae Skinks 85 1275
Cordylidae Girdle-tailed lizards 10 50
Dibamidae Blind lizards 1 4
Anguinomorpha Xenosauridae Crocodile lizards 1 4
Anguidae Anguids 8 75
Helodermatidae Beaded lizard, Gila Monster 1 2
Varanidae Monitors 1 31
Lanthanotidae Borneo earless lizard 1 1

Families

Agamidae

  • Family of lizards of the old world
  • Acrodont dentition
  • Includes the agama (Agama agama), frilled lizard (Chamydosaurus kingii), water dragon (Psysignathus cocincinus), Egyptian spiny-tailed lizard (Uromastyx aegyptius) and the sail-fin lizard (Hydrosaurus pustulatus)

Iguanidae

  • Family of lizards in the new world and a few species in the Indian Ocean region
  • Pleurodont dentition
  • Includes the green iguana (Iguana iguana), the green anole (Anolis carolinensis), basilisks (Basiliscus spp.), horned lizards (Phrynosoma spp.) spiny lizards (Sceloporus spp.) and West Indian rock iguanas (Cyclura spp.)

Chamaeleontidae

  • Old world or true chameleons
  • Anatomical differences from other lizards may include astonishingly long tongues, ability for colour change, oppositely opposable digits and prehensile tails.
  • Generally viviparous

Gekkonidae

  • Geckos
  • Large and diverse family which have colonised all tropical areas and extended into temperature regions
  • Primarily nocturnal insectivores
  • Anatomical differences from other lizards may include toe-pads, eyelids that have fused and are transparent as in snakes and eyes that move independently and are usually large
  • When subjected to daylight the pupils contract to a narrow slit with a series of pinholes
  • Generally oviparous with one to two eggs laid but some are viviparous
  • Three subfamilies are Eublepharine (no toe-pads), Sphaerodactylinae and Gekkoninae
  • Includes the commonly kept leopard gecko (Eublepharis macularius)

Pygopodidae

  • Includes snake lizards (Lialis spp.) and the scalyfoot (Pygopus spp.) which are without forelimbs and their hindlimbs are reduced to flaps of skin

Lacertidae

  • Wall or sand lizards of the old world
  • Insectivorous
  • All oviparous except the viviparous lizard (Lacerta vivapara)
  • Includes the oscellated green lizard (Lacerta lepida), rock lizard (Lacerta saxicola)

Teiidae

  • New world equivalents of the Lacertidae
  • The smaller are insectivorous and the larger carnivorous
  • Includes the whiptails and racerunners (Cnemidophorus spp.), jungle runners (Ameiva spp.) and tegus (Tupinambis spp.)

Xantusiidae

  • Desert night lizards
  • Xantusia spp.

Scincidae

  • True skinks
  • Little sexual dimorphism
  • Includes the blue-tongued skink (Tiliqua spp.), prehensile-tailed skink (Corucia zebrata), five-lined skink (Eumeces fasciatus) and the casqueheads (Tribolonotus spp.)

Cordylidae

  • Zonures or girdle-tailed lizards
  • All require very hot, dry conditions
  • Includes Cordylus spp.

Dibamidae

  • Blind lizards
  • Dibamus and Anelytropsis spp.

Xenosauridae

  • Consists of the Chinese crocodile-tailed lizard (Shinisaurus crocodiluris) and the new world xenosaurs (Xenosaurus spp.)

Anguidae

  • Long and snake-like in form
  • In America, Asia, Africa and Europe but species are not numerous
  • Both oviparous and viviparous species, both diurnal and nocturnal species and generally terrestrial
  • Insectivorous or carnivorous
  • Includes slow-worm (Anguis fragilis), alligator lizards (Elgaria spp.), glass lizards (Ophisaurus spp.) legless lizards (Annelia spp.) and the sheltopusik (Ophisaurus apodus)

Helodermatidae

Varanidae

  • Monitor lizards
  • Mostly large powerful predators or carrion eaters
  • Includes the savannah monitor (Varanus exanthematicus), Nile monitor (Varanus niloticus) and the Komodo dragon (Varanus komodoensis)

Lanthanotidae

  • Monotypic family
  • The Bornean earless lizard (Lanthanotus borneensis)