The Tropiduridae are a

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

iguanid The Iguanidae is a family of lizards composed of the iguanas, chuckwallas, and their prehistoric relatives, including the widespread green iguana. Taxonomy Iguanidae is thought to be the sister group to the collared lizards (family Crotaphy ...

lizards."Tropiduridae". The

Reptile Database The Reptile Database is a scientific database that collects taxonomic information on all living reptile species (i.e. no fossil species such as dinosaurs). The database focuses on species (as opposed to higher ranks such as families) and has entrie ...

. www.reptile-database.org. The family is sometimes considered a

subfamily In biological classification, a subfamily (Latin: ', plural ') is an auxiliary (intermediate) taxonomic rank, next below family but more inclusive than genus. Standard nomenclature rules end subfamily botanical names with "-oideae", and zoologi ...

, Tropidurinae. The subfamily is native to

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the southe ...

, including the islands of

Trinidad Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands of Trinidad and Tobago. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is often referred to as the southernmos ...

and the Galápagos. Commonly known as

neotropical The Neotropical realm is one of the eight biogeographic realms constituting Earth's land surface. Physically, it includes the tropical terrestrial ecoregions of the Americas and the entire South American temperate zone. Definition In bioge ...

ground lizards, most are ground-dwelling animals, and the subfamily includes some lizards adapted to relatively cold climates, including those of the

Andes The Andes, Andes Mountains or Andean Mountains (; ) are the longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range is long, wide (widest between 18°S – 20°S ...

mountains and

Tierra del Fuego Tierra del Fuego (, ; Spanish for "Land of the Fire", rarely also Fireland in English) is an archipelago off the southernmost tip of the South American mainland, across the Strait of Magellan. The archipelago consists of the main island, Isla G ...

. Several species give birth to live young. A 2021 study described a novel escutcheon-type generation gland ('α-gland') in tropidurines, found in at least 39 species. This gland is believed to be the main potential source of

semiochemical A semiochemical, from the Greek σημεῖον (''semeion''), meaning "signal", is a chemical substance or mixture released by an organism that affects the behaviors of other individuals. Semiochemical communication can be divided into two broa ...

s in this group indicating its importance in chemical signalling, an essential component of the communication system of lizards.

Genera

The family Tropiduridae contains the following eight

genera Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nomenclat ...

. *'' Eurolophosaurus'' *''

Microlophus ''Microlophus'' is a genus of tropidurid lizards native to South America. Around 20 species are recognized and 10 of these are endemic to the Galápagos Islands, where they are commonly known as lava lizardsBenavides E, Baum R, Snell HM, Snell ...

'' – lava lizards and Pacific iguanas (sometimes in ''Tropidurus'') *''

Plica Plica may refer to: * ''Plica'' (lizard), a genus of lizards * ''Capillaria plica'', a parasitic nematode * Plica (sigillography) - term from sigillography * A fold or crease, especially of skin or other tissue, from medieval Latin plicare ("to ...

'' *'' Stenocercus'' – whorltail iguanas *'' Strobilurus'' *''

Tropidurus ''Tropidurus'' is a genus of reptiles. The genus includes many species of Neotropical ground lizards (family Tropiduridae). ''Tropidurus'' is the type genus of the family Tropiduridae. Geographic range and habitat Species in the genus ''Tropi ...

'' (including ''Platynotus, Tapinurus'') *''

Uracentron ''Uracentron'' is a genus of tropidurid lizards found in forests in northern South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the ...

'' – thornytail iguanas (sometimes in ''Tropidurus'') *'' Uranoscodon''

Genera

References

External links

Further reading