Scleroglossa
Encyclopedia
Scleroglossa is the previously recognized suborder of Squamata
(snakes and lizards) that contains the geckos
, anguids
, worm lizards
, monitor lizards, such as heloderma
tids, skinks and snakes. The name is derived from the Greek, skleros, meaning hard and glossa, meaning tongue.
Traditionally, Squamata
has been divided into Scleroglossa
and Iguania
. This split was based on features of the tongue; iguanians have a muscular tongue and use lingual prehension to capture food, whereas scleroglossans have hard tongues and use teeth-and-jaw prehension to capture food, freeing the tongue for chemosensory activity. More recently it has been proposed that iguanians are more derived and highly nested within Squamata along with snakes and anguimorphs
. This discovery does not support the split between scleroglossans and iguanians and renders the Scleroglossa taxon obsolete. A new clade Bifurcata (bifurcated tongue) has been proposed that would include Iguanians nested highly within Scleroglossa.
Squamata
Squamata, or the scaled reptiles, is the largest recent order of reptiles, including lizards and snakes. Members of the order are distinguished by their skins, which bear horny scales or shields. They also possess movable quadrate bones, making it possible to move the upper jaw relative to the...
(snakes and lizards) that contains the geckos
GeckOS
GeckOS is an experimental operating system for MOS 6502 and compatible processors. It offers some Unix-like functionality including preemptive multitasking, multithreading, semaphores, signals, binary relocation, TCP/IP networking via SLIP and a 6502 standard library.GeckOS includes native support...
, anguids
Anguidae
The Anguidae is a large and diverse family of lizards native to the northern hemisphere. The group includes the slowworms, glass lizards, and alligator lizards, among others. Anguidae is divided into three subfamilies and contains 94 species in eight genera. Their closest living relatives are the...
, worm lizards
Amphisbaenia
The Amphisbaenia are a usually legless suborder of squamates closely related to lizards and snakes. As many species possess a pink body coloration and scales arranged in rings, they have a superficial resemblance to earthworms. They are very poorly understood, due to their burrowing lifestyle...
, monitor lizards, such as heloderma
Heloderma
Heloderma, the only genus of the family Helodermatidae, consists of venomous lizards native to the southwestern United States, Mexico and as far south as Guatemala. It includes two separate species, with six subspecies...
tids, skinks and snakes. The name is derived from the Greek, skleros, meaning hard and glossa, meaning tongue.
Traditionally, Squamata
Squamata
Squamata, or the scaled reptiles, is the largest recent order of reptiles, including lizards and snakes. Members of the order are distinguished by their skins, which bear horny scales or shields. They also possess movable quadrate bones, making it possible to move the upper jaw relative to the...
has been divided into Scleroglossa
Scleroglossa
Scleroglossa is the previously recognized suborder of Squamata that contains the geckos, anguids, worm lizards, monitor lizards, such as helodermatids, skinks and snakes. The name is derived from the Greek, skleros, meaning hard and glossa, meaning tongue.Traditionally, Squamata has been divided...
and Iguania
Iguania
Iguania is the suborder of Squamata that contains the iguanas, chameleons, agamids, and "New World lizards" such as anoles and Phrynosomatidae...
. This split was based on features of the tongue; iguanians have a muscular tongue and use lingual prehension to capture food, whereas scleroglossans have hard tongues and use teeth-and-jaw prehension to capture food, freeing the tongue for chemosensory activity. More recently it has been proposed that iguanians are more derived and highly nested within Squamata along with snakes and anguimorphs
Anguimorpha
Anguimorphs of the infraorder Anguimorpha include the anguids , monitor lizards, the extinct mosasaurs, and helodermatids . The infraorder was named by Fürbringer in 1900 to include all autarchoglossans closer to Varanus and Anguis than Scincus...
. This discovery does not support the split between scleroglossans and iguanians and renders the Scleroglossa taxon obsolete. A new clade Bifurcata (bifurcated tongue) has been proposed that would include Iguanians nested highly within Scleroglossa.
- Infraorder AmphisbaeniaAmphisbaeniaThe Amphisbaenia are a usually legless suborder of squamates closely related to lizards and snakes. As many species possess a pink body coloration and scales arranged in rings, they have a superficial resemblance to earthworms. They are very poorly understood, due to their burrowing lifestyle...
– worm lizards - Infraorder AnguimorphaAnguimorphaAnguimorphs of the infraorder Anguimorpha include the anguids , monitor lizards, the extinct mosasaurs, and helodermatids . The infraorder was named by Fürbringer in 1900 to include all autarchoglossans closer to Varanus and Anguis than Scincus...
– ananguidsAnguidaeThe Anguidae is a large and diverse family of lizards native to the northern hemisphere. The group includes the slowworms, glass lizards, and alligator lizards, among others. Anguidae is divided into three subfamilies and contains 94 species in eight genera. Their closest living relatives are the...
(alligator lizards, glass lizardGlass lizardThe glass lizards or glass snakes, genus Ophisaurus, are a group of reptiles that resemble snakes, but are actually lizards. Although most species have no legs, their head shape and the fact that they have movable eyelids and external ear openings identify them as lizards. A few species have very...
s, galliwasps and legless lizardLegless lizardLegless lizard may refer to any of several groups of lizards which have independently lost limbs or reduced them to the point of being of no use in locomotion. It is the common name for the family Pygopodidae, but often refers to other groups, such as limbless anguids, depending upon the region of...
s), monitor lizardMonitor lizardMonitor lizards are usually large reptiles, although some can be as small as in length. They have long necks, powerful tails and claws, and well-developed limbs. Most species are terrestrial, but arboreal and semiaquatic monitors are also known...
s, mosasaurMosasaurMosasaurs are large extinct marine lizards. The first fossil remains were discovered in a limestone quarry at Maastricht on the Meuse in 1764...
s, and helodermaHelodermaHeloderma, the only genus of the family Helodermatidae, consists of venomous lizards native to the southwestern United States, Mexico and as far south as Guatemala. It includes two separate species, with six subspecies...
tids (Gila monsterGila monsterThe Gila monster is a species of venomous lizard native to the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexican state of Sonora...
and beaded lizardBeaded lizardThe Beaded lizard is a species of venomous lizard found principally in Mexico and southern Guatemala. Along with its congener, the Gila monster , it is the only lizard to have evolved an overt venom delivery system, and has long been considered the only venomous lizard...
) - Infraorder GekkotaGekkotaGekkota is an infraorder of reptiles in the suborder Scleroglossa, comprising all geckos and the limbless Pygopodidae. The legless lizards of the family Dibamidae are also referred to as blind lizards but recent molecular phylogenies suggest they are not gekkotans.Gekkota are a suborder of...
– (the geckosGeckOSGeckOS is an experimental operating system for MOS 6502 and compatible processors. It offers some Unix-like functionality including preemptive multitasking, multithreading, semaphores, signals, binary relocation, TCP/IP networking via SLIP and a 6502 standard library.GeckOS includes native support...
) - Infraorder ScincomorphaScincomorphaScincomorpha is an infraorder of saurians....
– (skinks, whiptail lizards and common European lizards) - Infraorder Serpentes – snakes