Herpetology Quiz 3

  • Agamidae “dragon lizards”:  585 species, “Old World”, acrodont teeth, reticular lingual papillae, bright colors, frilled neck, external ear opening with tympanic membrane, visually orientated, enlarged dorsal scales.

  • Chamaeleonidae “chamleons”: 228 species, “Old World”, change color, twice as long tongue, fast tongues 60 mph, turreted eyes, acrodonts, zygodactyly, prehensile tail, and no external ear.

  • Corytophanidae “casquehead or helmethead lizard”: 11 species, “New World”, large heads, rapid movements, walk on water, head crests deter predators, don’t drop tail

  • Dibamidae “White blinds skink”: 23 species, disjunct distribution (SW Asia and Mexico!), limbless, vestigial eyes covered by a scale, lack external ear openings

  • Diplodactylidae “(crested) geckos” – 154 species, Australia, NZ, New Caledonia,velvety skin and spectacles, no eyelids, nocturnal, arid environments

  • Gekkonidae “(leopard) gecko”: >1300 species, pantropical, adhesive toe pads with setae, spectacles, nocturnal, post-cloacal bony elements.

  • Helodermatidae “beaded lizards” – 5 species, southwestern US, Mexico, northern Central America, large up to 3 ft, venomous, warty skin, osteoderms

  • Iguanidae “iguanas”: 44, “New World”, large body, dorsal spines, dewlaps, pleurodonts, parietal process on top of head, store fat in their neck and lower jaw, communicate with head bobbing, fleshy tongue.

  • Lanthanotidae “Earless monitor lizard”: 1 species, Borneo, no external ear, translucent lower eyelids, yellow underside, semi-aquatic, 7.5-10 lifespan, uses chemoreception with tongue, nasal bulges

  • Phrynosomatidae “horned/spiny lizards”: 172 species, North America, Mexico, Central America, pleurodonts, lack pterygoid teeth, wide flat bodies, reduced pectoral girdle, sink-trap nasal cavities

  • Scincidae “skink”: 1755 species, global, osteoderms+bony secondary palate, body elongation+limb reduction+no necks, look shiny or smooth.

  • Varanidae “monitor lizard”: 86 species, “Old World”, elongated body, sharp claws, forked tongues, pleurodont teeth, 500 psi bite force, some venom, arboreal/terrestrial/or highly aquatic.

  • There are 11 snake species in New Hampshire, such as the timber rattlesnake.

  • There are 6 families in the order squamata (lizards, snakes, amphisbaenians)

  • lizards are a paraphyletic group.

  • paraphyletic: A group of organisms descended from a common evolutionary ancestor or ancestral group, but not including all the descendant groups.