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Anguimorpha
The Anguimorpha is a suborder of Squamata, squamates. The group was named by Fürbringer in 1900 to include all autarchoglossans closer to ''Varanus'' and ''Anguis'' than ''Scincus''. These lizards, along with iguanians and snakes, constitute the proposed "venom clade" Toxicofera of all venomous reptiles. Evolution The oldest widely accepted member of Anguimorpha is ''Dorsetisaurus'' from the Late Jurassic of Europe and North America. In 2022, the genus ''Cryptovaranoides'' was described from the latest Triassic (Rhaetian) of England. ''Cryptovaranoides'' was recovered in the study as a crown-group anguimorph, and therefore the oldest crown group-squamate, 35 million years older than any previously known crown-group squamate. However, a 2023 study found that ''Cryptovaranoides'' most likely represents an Archosauromorpha, archosauromorph that was only distantly related to squamates. Families Anguidae There are 9 genera found within the Anguidae family. They are characteriz ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Squamata
Squamata (, Latin ''squamatus'', 'scaly, having scales') is the largest Order (biology), order of reptiles; most members of which are commonly known as Lizard, lizards, with the group also including Snake, snakes. With over 11,991 species, it is also the second-largest order of Neontology, extant (living) vertebrates, after the Perciformes, perciform fish. Squamates are distinguished by their skins, which bear horny scale (zoology), scales or shields, and must periodically engage in molting. They also possess movable quadrate bones, making possible movement of the Maxilla, upper jaw relative to the neurocranium. This is particularly visible in snakes, which are able to open their mouths very widely to accommodate comparatively large prey. Squamates are the most variably sized living reptiles, ranging from the Sphaerodactylus ariasae, dwarf gecko (''Sphaerodactylus ariasae'') to the reticulated python (''Malayopython reticulatus''). The now-Extinction, extinct mosasaurs reached ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mosasauria
Mosasauria is a clade of aquatic and semiaquatic squamates that lived during the Cretaceous period. Fossils belonging to the group have been found in all continents around the world. Early mosasaurians like dolichosaurs were small long-bodied lizards that inhabited nearshore coastal and freshwater environments; the Late Cretaceous saw the rise of large marine forms, the mosasaurids, which are the clade's best-known members. The clade is defined as all descendants of the last common ancestor of the mosasaur '' Mosasaurus hoffmannii'' and dolichosaurs '' Dolichosaurus'', '' Coniasaurus'', and '' Adriosaurus suessi''. Its placement within the squamate tree is highly controversial. Two prominent hypotheses include the varanoid hypothesis, which holds that mosasaurians are most closely related to monitor lizards, and the pythonomorph hypothesis, which argues for a sister relationship with snakes. A third ophidiomorph hypothesis argues that snakes are members of the Mosasauria ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Paleoanguimorpha
Paleoanguimorpha is a clade of anguimorphs comprising Shinisauria (represented today by shinisaurids) and Goannasauria (represented today by Varanoidea which includes the families Lanthanotidae and Varanidae). Morphological studies in the past also classified helodermatids and pythonomorphs with the varanoids in the clade Platynota, while the Chinese crocodile lizard was classified as a xenosaurid. Current molecular work finds no support in these groupings and instead has found the helodermatids more related to Diploglossa in the sister clade Neoanguimorpha, while the Chinese crocodile lizard is the closet living relative to varanoids. Pythonomorphs represented by snakes today are not closely related to varanoids and are instead a sister lineage to Anguimorpha and Iguania in the clade Toxicofera. Below is the phylogeny of the paleoanguimorph lineages after Pyron ''et al.'' (2013): See also *Neoanguimorpha Neoanguimorpha is a clade of anguimorphs comprising Monstersaur ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Toxicofera
Toxicofera (Latin for "toxin-bearers") is a proposed clade of squamata, scaled reptiles (squamates) that includes the snake, Serpentes (snakes), Anguimorpha (monitor lizards, Helodermatidae, beaded lizards, and alligator lizards) and Iguania (iguanas, Agama (lizard), agamas, and chameleons). Toxicofera contains about 4,600 species (nearly 60%) of extant taxon, extant Squamata. It encompasses all Venom (poison), venomous reptile species, as well as numerous related non-venomous species. There is little morphological evidence to support this grouping; however, it has been recovered by all molecular analyses as of 2012. Cladistics Toxicofera combines the following groups from traditional Scientific classification, classification: * Suborder Serpentes (snakes) * Suborder Iguania (iguanas, agamid lizards, chameleons, etc.) * Suborder Anguimorpha, consisting of: ** Family Varanidae (monitor lizards) ** Family Lanthanotidae (earless monitor lizard) ** Family Anguidae (alligator lizard ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Xenosauridae
Xenosauridae is a family of anguimorph lizards whose only living representative is the genus '' Xenosaurus'', which is native to Central America. Xenosauridae also includes the extinct genera '' Exostinus'' and '' Restes''. Also known as knob-scaled lizards, they have rounded, bumpy scales and osteoderms. Most living species prefer humid, rocky habitats, although they are widespread within their native regions, with some inhabiting semi-arid scrub environments. They are carnivorous or insectivorous, and give birth to live young. '' Shinisaurus'', the Chinese crocodile lizard, was once also regarded as a member of Xenosauridae, but most recent studies of the evolutionary relationships of anguimorphs consider ''Shinisaurus'' to be more closely related to monitor lizards and helodermatids than to ''Xenosaurus''. Xenosauridae is part of a larger clade In biology, a clade (), also known as a Monophyly, monophyletic group or natural group, is a group of organisms that is compose ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Neoanguimorpha
Neoanguimorpha is a clade of anguimorphs comprising Monstersauria (represented today by helodermatids) and Diploglossa (Xenosauridae Xenosauridae is a family of anguimorph lizards whose only living representative is the genus '' Xenosaurus'', which is native to Central America. Xenosauridae also includes the extinct genera '' Exostinus'' and '' Restes''. Also known as knob-sca ... and Anguioidea). Morphological studies in the past had classified helodermatids with the varanoids in the clade Platynota, while the Chinese crocodile lizard was classified as a xenosaurid. However molecular work found no support in these groupings and instead has found the helodermatids more related to Diploglossa, while the Chinese crocodile lizard and varanoids to form the clade Paleoanguimorpha. Below is the phylogeny of the neoanguimorph lineages after Pyron ''et al.'' (2013): See also * Paleoanguimorpha References Anguimorpha {{lizard-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dorsetisaurus
''Dorsetisaurus'' is a genus of extinct lizard, known from the Late Jurassic of North America, and the Late Jurassic-earliest Cretaceous of Europe. The genus was first reported from the Early Cretaceous (Berriasian) Lulworth Formation of the Purbeck Group of Durlston Bay, in Dorset. It has also been reported from the Late Jurassic aged Alcobaça Formation of Portugal, the Aptian-Albian Dzunbain Formation of Mongolia, and the Morrison Formation of Western North AmericaFoster, J. (2007). "Table 2.1: Fossil Vertebrates of the Morrison Formation." ''Jurassic West: The Dinosaurs of the Morrison Formation and Their World''. Indiana University Press. pp. 58-59. present in stratigraphic zones 2, 4, and 5.Foster, J. (2007). "''Enneabatrachus hechti''" ''Jurassic West: The Dinosaurs of the Morrison Formation and Their World''. Indiana University Press. p. 137. It is considered the oldest widely accepted member of Anguimorpha. based on the presence of 11 shared synapomorphies In phyloge ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cryptovaranoides
''Cryptovaranoides'' ("hidden lizard-like animal") is an extinct genus of reptile from the Late Triassic Magnesian Conglomerate of England. It contains a single species, ''Cryptovaranoides microlanius''. Discovery and naming It is represented by a holotype partial skeleton as well as referred isolated bones from Rhaetian-aged fissure fill-deposits in Slickstones Quarry, near Tortworth, Gloucestershire preserved alongside the common fossil rhynchocephalian ''Clevosaurus''. The type specimen had been collected in 1953, but was only described as a distinct taxon in 2022. Classification When first described, ''Cryptovaranoides'' was interpreted as a crown group squamate belonging to the clade Anguimorpha, based on features of the skull architecture, braincase, dentition and postcranium. Since fossils of crown-squamates otherwise are known only from the Middle Jurassic onwards, ''Cryptovaranoides'' would push back the estimated origin of modern squamates by 35 million years, i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Diploglossidae
Diploglossidae is a family of anguimorph lizards native to the Americas, with most genera being endemic to Hispaniola. Most members of this family (aside from the legless genus '' Ophiodes'') are known as galliwasps. They were formerly considered a subfamily of Anguidae, but genetic evidence has shown them to be less closely related to other members of Anguidae than Anniellidae is. Taxonomy Phylogenetic evidence supports an early Cenozoic origin for the family Diploglossidae. member species were previously only classified into three genera ('' Celestus'', '' Diploglossus'', and '' Ophiodes''), but a 2021 study found these genera to be paraphyletic, and thus further split them into more genera, classified within three different subfamilies (the celestines, diploglossines, and siderolamprines). The siderolamprines and a single celestine radiated throughout most of Central America, the diploglossines radiated throughout South America, and both the celestines and diploglossines radi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Iguania
Iguania is an infraorder of squamate reptiles that includes iguanas, chameleons, agamids, and New World lizards like anoles and phrynosomatids. Using morphological features as a guide to evolutionary relationships, the Iguania are believed to form the sister group to the remainder of the Squamata, which comprise nearly 11,000 named species, roughly 2000 of which are iguanians. However, molecular information has placed Iguania well within the Squamata as sister taxa to the Anguimorpha and closely related to snakes. The order has been under debate and revisions after being classified by Charles Lewis Camp in 1923 due to difficulties finding adequate synapomorphic morphological characteristics. Most iguanians are arboreal but there are several terrestrial groups. They usually have primitive fleshy, non-prehensile tongues, although the tongue is highly modified in chameleons. Today they are scattered occurring in Madagascar, the Fiji and Friendly Islands and Western Hemispher ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rio Fuerte Beaded Lizard
The Rio Fuerte beaded lizard (''Heloderma exasperatum'') is a venomous species of beaded lizard in the family Helodermatidae. It is found in the tropical forests and shrublands of western Mexico, specifically around the Rio Fuerte and Rio Mayo basins. It is often found in or near abandoned mammal burrows and sources of water. Geographic range ''H. exasperatum'' is found in southwestern Chihuahua and southern Sonora, Mexico, up to an altitude of . Description As an adult, the Rio Fuerte beaded lizard ranges from 60 to 90 cm (23.6 to 35.4 in) in total length (including tail). It can weigh up to 4 kg (8.8 lb). It is very similar to the Mexican beaded lizard in appearance and size. Diet ''H. exasperatum'' feeds mainly on reptile eggs, but also eats bird eggs, and nestlings of birds and mammals. Reproduction ''H. exasperatum'' is oviparous. Taxonomy The Rio Fuerte beaded lizard is a member of the family Helodermatidae The Helodermatidae or beaded lizards are a small family of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mexican Beaded Lizard
The Mexican beaded lizard (''Heloderma horridum'') or beaded lizard is a species of lizard in the family Helodermatidae, one of the two species of venomous beaded lizards found principally in Mexico and southern Guatemala. It and the other members of the same genus, including the Gila monster (''Heloderma suspectum''), are the only lizards known to have evolved an overt venom delivery system. The Mexican beaded lizard is larger than the Gila monster, with duller coloration, black with yellowish bands. As it is a specialized predator that feeds primarily upon eggs, the primary use of its venom is still a source of debate among scientists. This venom has been found to contain several enzymes useful for manufacturing drugs in the treatment of diabetes, and research on the pharmacological use of its venom is ongoing. Threatened throughout its range by overcollection and habitat loss, it is a CITES protected species. The Guatemalan beaded lizard (''H. charlesbogerti'') is one of th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
