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 in the skin of most taxa. The group is divided into two living subfamilies, the legless Anguinae, which contains slow worms and glass lizards, among others, found across the Northern Hemisphere, and Gerrhonotinae, which contains the alligator lizards, native to North and Central America. The family Diploglossidae was also formerly included. The family contains about 87 species in 8 genera.
Abronia is a genus of lizards in the family Anguidae that is native to Mexico and Central America. The majority of the species are restricted to southern Mexico and Guatemala, but members of the genus occur as far south as Panama. They inhabit forests and woodlands, mostly in highlands, and some species are often associated with bromeliads. They are typically arboreal, but there are also terrestrial Abronia species. Many species are considered threatened due to habitat loss, killing by locals who mistakenly believe they are venomous, or collection for the captive reptile trade. They feed on small animal prey, such as insects, and the females give birth to live young.
The Mexican alligator lizard, also known as the green arboreal alligator lizard, is an endangered species of lizard endemic to the Sierra Madre de Oaxaca highlands of Mexico. It can be found in the states of Puebla, Veracruz, and Oaxaca. It was originally described under the genus Gerrhonotus as Gerrhonotus gramineus by Edward D. Cope in 1864.
Abronia bogerti, known by the common name Bogert's arboreal alligator lizard, is a species of lizard in the family Anguidae. The species is endemic to Mexico.
Abronia chiszari, Chiszar's arboreal alligator lizard, is an endangered species of arboreal alligator lizard in the family Anguidae. The species is native to east-central Mexico.
Abronia deppii, Deppe's arboreal alligator lizard, is an endangered species of arboreal alligator lizard in the family Anguidae. The species was described in 1828 by Arend Friedrich August Wiegmann, and it is endemic to Mexico.
Abronia lythrochila is a species of lizard in the family Anguidae known by the common name red-lipped arboreal alligator lizard.
Abronia martindelcampoi, Martín del Campo's arboreal alligator lizard, is an endangered species of arboreal alligator lizard described in 2003 by Flores-Villela and Sánchez-Herrera.
Abronia matudai, Matuda's arboreal alligator lizard, is a species of endangered arboreal alligator lizard in the family Anguidae. The species, which was originally described in 1946 by Norman Hartweg and Joseph Tihen, is endemic to Central America.
Abronia mitchelli, Mitchell's arboreal alligator lizard, is a species of arboreal alligator lizard in the family Anguidae. The species, which was originally described in 1982 by Jonathan A. Campbell, is endemic to southwestern Mexico.
Abronia ochoterenai, Ochoterena's arboreal alligator lizard or Northern Chiapas arboreal alligator lizard, is a species of arboreal alligator lizard in the family Anguidae. The species, which is native to extreme southern Mexico, was described in 1939 by Rafael Martín del Campo.
Abronia ornelasi, Ornelas's arboreal alligator lizard or Cerro Baul alligator lizard, is a species of arboreal alligator lizard in the family Anguidae. The species, which was originally described in 1984 by Jonathan A. Campbell, is endemic to southern Mexico.
Abronia ramirezi, Ramirez's alligator lizard, is species of arboreal alligator lizard in the family Anguidae. The species, which was described in 1994 by Campbell, is endemic to Mexico.
Abronia reidi, Reid's arboreal alligator lizard, is a species of arboreal alligator lizard in the family Anguidae. The species is native to Mexico. It was described as a species new to science in 1961 by John E. Werler and Frederick A. Shannon.
Abronia smithi is a species of lizard in the family Anguidae. Known by the common name Smith's arboreal alligator lizard, the species is endemic to the state of Chiapas in Mexico.
Cope's arboreal alligator lizard is a species of lizard found in two isolated locations in Guatemala, one in the Alta Verapaz Department and one in the Jalapa Department. These lizard are found only in high altitudes of 2,000 to 2,600 feet above sea level, on the west and south sides of the mountain ranges. This lizard is one of 28 species of alligator lizards, most being arboreal, meaning they live in trees. These omnivores are considered endangered because of their small population size and they face extinction due to habitat degradation and from pressures of the pet trade.
Frost's arboreal alligator lizard is a species of lizard in the family Anguidae. The species is endemic to Guatemala in Central America.
Abronia vasconcelosii, sometimes known as Bocourt's arboreal alligator lizard, is a species of lizard in the family Anguidae. It is endemic to the plateau of the Guatemalan Highlands, where it occurs in lower montane moist forest and cloud forest habitat at elevations around 2,000–2,200 m (6,600–7,200 ft) above sea level.
Abronia cuetzpali is a species of arboreal alligator lizard described in 2016 by Campbell, Solano-Zavaleta, Flores-Villela, Caviedes-Solís and Frost from the Sierra de Miahuatlán of Oaxaca, Mexico.
Abronia morenica, the Sierra Morena arboreal alligator lizard, is a species of lizard in the family Anguidae. It is endemic to the Sierra Madre de Chiapas in southern Mexico. It is known from cloud forests at elevations of 1,480–1,800 m (4,860–5,910 ft) above sea level, including both highly mesic ridgeline and more arid lower slope woodlands.
