Lizards -- Part 1
Herpetoculture
Pensacola Jr College
Lizards --
Classification
w Phylum Chordata
w Subphylum Vertebrata
w Superclass Tetrapoda
w Class Reptilia
w Order Squamata
w Suborder Lacertilia
Order Squamata
w Lizards, snakes,
amphisbaenians
w High degree of skull kinesis
w Hemipenes with sulcus
spermaticus groove in each
w Scales of varying shapes and
sizes
Order Squamata
(cont’d)
w Limb reduction common
w Often have caudal autotomy
• Lose tail voluntarily
• Fracture planes within
vertebra
• Muscle and connective tissue
arrangement allow easy split
• Tail regrowth with cartilage
rod in lizards (not snakes)
Order Squamata
(cont’d)
w Transverse anal opening
w Jacobson’s organ in roof of
mouth (chemosensory)
THE LIZARDS
Suborder
Lacertilia
w External ear openings **
w Moveable eyelids
w Well developed tongue, long/
forked or broad/ less forked
w Teeth may be:
• Pleurodont = long roots,
weak attachment
• Acrodont = short roots,
firmly attached
Suborder
Lacertilia (cont’d)
w Two halves of jaw firmly
united
w Other parts of skull with
high kinesis
w Preanal and femoral pores
open to glands for marking territories (more/larger in males)
Suborder
Lacertilia (cont’d)
w Mostly carnivorous or
omnivorous
w Mostly diurnal
w Usually solitary &
territorial (ritualized displays)
w Oviparous, ovoviviparous,
viviparous, gynogenesis, etc
w A few with parental care
Classification
w Class Reptilia
w Order Squamata
w Suborder Lacertilia
• Family Agamidae
• Family Chamaeleontidae
• Family Iguanidae
• Family Gekkonidae
• Family Scincidae
• Family Helodermatidae
• Family Varanidae
Family Agamidae = chisel-teeth
lizards including dragons (not Komodo) frilled lizard, bloodsucker, etc
300 species with high diversity
Family Agamidae
w Range: Africa, Asia,
Australia
w Physical characteristics:
• Keeled scales
• Large head
• Ornamentation, esp. males
• Thick blunt tongue
• Acrodont dentition
• Chisel-shaped front teeth
Family Agamidae
w Diurnal
w Carnivores or omnivores
(except Egyptian spiny-tailed lizard)
w Oviparous or ovoviviparous
Australian frilled
lizard
Kenya Rock Agama
Flying Dragon
Egyptian
spiny-tailed lizard (Uromastyx)
Butterfly lizard
Bloodsucker lizard
Horny Devil
Sailfin Lizard
Family
Chamaeleontidae = chameleons
85 species with low diversity
Family
Chamaeleontidae
w Range: Africa, India
w Physical characteristics:
• Head ornamentation
• Lateral body compression
• Long slender legs
• Opposeable toes
• Slender prehensile tail
• No external ear openings
Family
Chamaeleontidae
w Physical characteristics:
• Protruding eyes that move
independently, scaly lids
• Long (more than body length)
slender tongue with sticky mucus tip
• Acrodont dentition
• Very slow moving
• Can change colors
Family
Chamaeleontidae
w Mostly diurnal
w Arboreal insectivores
w Solitary, males territorial
w Fighting and courtship
behaviors
w Females store sperm
w Oviparous or ovoviviparous
Short-horned
chameleon
Parson’s chameleon
Flapneck chameleon
Flap-necked
chameleon
Will's Chameleon
Jackson’s
chameleon
Family Iguanidae =
iguanas, anoles, basilisks, horned lizards, spiny lizards, etc
650 species with high diversity
Family Iguanidae
w Range: N and S America,
Madagascar, S Pacific Islands
w Physical characteristics:
• Often have ornamentation
• Fragile tail
• Thick fleshy tongue
• Acrodont or pleurodont teeth
Family Iguanidae
w Diurnal
w Most bask and can survive
high temperatures
w Insectivores, carnivores,
omnivores, or herbivores
w Most are social and
territorial
w Usually oviparous
Knight Anole
Green Anole
Brown Anole
Arizona chuckwalla
Baja CA Collared
Lizard
Green Basilisk
Black-tailed brush
lizard
Bleached earless
lizard
CA side-blotched
lizard
Clark’s spiny
lizard
Coachella Valley Fringe-toed
Lizard
Coast Horned
Lizard
Green Iguana
Cowle’s prairie
lizard
Desert Iguana
Eastern fence
lizard
Fiji banded iguana
Galapagos land
iguana
Grand Cayman
iguana
Greater
short-horned lizard
Marine Iguana
Large-spot leopard
lizard
Lava Lizard