Diploglossidae is a family of
anguimorph
The Anguimorpha is a suborder of 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 propo ...
lizards native to the Americas, with most genera being
endemic
Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found else ...
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
Anguidae refers to a large and diverse family of lizards native to the Northern Hemisphere. Common characteristics of this group include a reduced supratemporal arch, striations on the medial faces of tooth crowns, osteoderms, and a lateral fold ...
, 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. Species were previously only classified into 3 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 3 different
subfamilies (the celestines, diploglossines, and siderolamprines). The siderolamprines and a single celestine radiated throughout most of
Central America
Central America ( es, América Central or ) is a subregion of the Americas. Its boundaries are defined as bordering the United States to the north, Colombia to the south, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. ...
, the diploglossines radiated throughout
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 sout ...
, and both the celestines and diploglossines radiated throughout the
Caribbean.
Classification
The family contains the following genera:
* Family Diploglossidae
** Subfamily Celestinae
*** Genus ''
Advenus'' - mountain forest galliwasp (one species)
*** Genus ''
Caribicus'' - Hispaniolan giant galliwasps (two extant species, one possibly extinct species)
*** Genus ''
Celestus'' - Jamaican galliwasps (eight extant species, three possibly extinct species)
*** Genus ''
Comptus'' (three species)
*** Genus ''
Panolopus'' (three species)
*** Genus ''
Sauresia'' - four-toed galliwasp (one species)
*** Genus ''
Wetmorena'' - earless galliwasps (two species)
** Subfamily Diploglossinae
*** Genus ''
Diploglossus'' (11 species)
*** Genus ''
Ophiodes'' - worm lizards (six species)
** Subfamily Siderolamprinae
*** Genus ''
Siderolamprus'' (14 species)
Description
Most galliwasps are larger lizards, with normally proportioned and complete limbs. They superficially resemble
skinks
Skinks are lizards belonging to the family Scincidae, a family in the infraorder Scincomorpha. With more than 1,500 described species across 100 different taxonomic genera, the family Scincidae is one of the most diverse families of lizards. Sk ...
, and due to their bright coloration and size, are falsely assumed to be venomous. They occupy terrestrial habitats.
References
External links
"''Celestus''"at The Reptile Database
"''Diploglossus''"at The Reptile Database
Diploglossidae
Taxa named by Marie Firmin Bocourt
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