Phrynosomatidae

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Phrynosomatidae
Cophosaurus texanus

Cophosaurus texanus

Systematics
without rank: Sauropsida
Superordinate : Scale lizards (Lepidosauria)
Order : Scale reptiles (Squamata)
without rank: Toxicofera
without rank: Iguana (Iguania)
Family : Phrynosomatidae
Scientific name
Phrynosomatidae
Fitzinger , 1843

The Phrynosomatidae are a family of the iguanas (Iguania) that occur in North and Central America from southern Canada to Panama . The main distribution center of the more than 120 species are the western, continental United States and Mexico .

features

The lizards are small, most species have a head-trunk length of less than ten centimeters. The animals live on the ground and often have an oblate body. They differ from other iguanas by a total of 30 autapomorphies , which mostly affect the skull bones.

Way of life

They live in deserts and other arid areas, preferably on rocky terrain. Their diet consists of insects, other invertebrates and smaller lizards. The toad lizards ( Phrynosoma ) are exclusively desert inhabitants, Sceloporus , the species-richest genus has both ground-dwelling members and members who climb bushes and rocks. The species of the Uma genus move like the North African Apothekerkink through loose sand. All Phrynosomatidae except for a few species of the genera Sceloporus and Phrynosoma , which are viviparous , reproduce through eggs .

Short-horned toad lizard ( Phrynosoma douglassi )
Blue spiny iguanas ( Sceloporus cyanogenys )
Common spotted iguana ( Uta stansburiana )

Systematics

The Phrynosomatidae were initially considered a subfamily of the iguanas (Iguanidae) until they were raised to the rank of a family by Frost and Etheridge in 1989.

literature

Web links

Commons : Phrynosomatidae  - Collection of Images, Videos, and Audio Files