Ophisaurus is a genus of superficially snake-like legless lizards in the subfamily Anguinae. Known as joint snakes, glass snakes, or glass lizards, they are so-named because their tails are easily broken; like many lizards, they have the ability to deter predation by dropping off part of the tail, which can break into several pieces, like glass. The tail remains mobile, distracting the predator, while the lizard becomes motionless, allowing eventual escape. This serious loss of body mass requires a considerable effort to replace, and can take years to do so. Despite this ability, the new tail is usually smaller than the original.
Pseudopus is a genus of anguid lizards that are native to Eurasia. One extant species remains, the sheltopusik, with four fossil species. They are the most robust members of subfamily Anguinae. The oldest fossils of the group date to the Early Miocene, but there are possible Oligocene records.
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.
Anguinae is a subfamily of legless lizards in the family Anguidae, commonly called glass lizards, glass snakes or slow worms. The first two names come from the fact their tails easily break or snap off. Members of Anguinae are native to North America, Europe, Asia, and North Africa. They first appeared in Europe during the early Eocene, around 48–49 million years ago, originating from North American ancestors that crossed over from Greenland via Thule Land Bridge and spread toward Asia sometime after the drying of the Turgai Strait at the beginning of the Oligocene, and then across the Bering Land Bridge to North America during the Miocene. Very vestigial hindlegs are present in Hyalosaurus and Pseudopus, but are entirely absent in the other genera. Members of the group largely feed on insects and other invertebrates. The largest living species, the Sheltopusik, can reach lengths of 120 centimetres (47 in).
Peltosaurus is an extinct genus of anguid lizard from North America that lived from the Eocene to the Oligocene. Peltosaurus belongs to the anguid subfamily Glyptosaurinae. The type species Peltosaurus granulosus was named in 1873 by American paleontologist Edward Drinker Cope. Many additional species have been named, but most have been reassigned to different genera. For example, Peltosaurus piger, named in 1928, was reclassified as Odaxosaurus piger, and P. jepseni, named in 1942 from the Paleocene of Wyoming, but was later reclassified as Proxestops jepseni. In 1955 a new species, Peltosaurus macrodon, was named from the Eocene of California. Lizard bones from the Late Miocene of Nebraska were attributed to a new species of Peltosaurus called P. minimus in 1976, extending the fossil range of Peltosaurus and Glyptosaurinae into the Neogene. However, these bones were later referred to a genus of skinks called Eumeces, meaning that the fossil range of Peltosaurus and Glyptosaurinae does not go beyond the Paleogene.
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.
Diploglossidae is a family of anguimorph lizards native to the Americas, with most genera being endemic to Hispaniola. Most members of this family are known as galliwasps. They were formerly considered a subfamily of Anguidae, but genetic evidence has shown them to be less closely related to other members of Anguidae than Anniellidae is.
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 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 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 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.
Glyptosaurinae is an extinct subfamily of anguid lizards that lived in the Northern Hemisphere during the Late Cretaceous and the Paleogene.
Helodermoides is an extinct genus of anguid lizards from the Oligocene of North America. The genus is monotypic, including only the species Helodermoides tuberculatus. Helodermoides belongs to an extinct subfamily of anguids called Glyptosaurinae. In addition to many fragmentary bones, several complete skeletons of Helodermoides are known. Like other glyptosaurines, Helodermoides was covered in small scale-like bones called osteoderms. The osteoderms covering its skull are hexagonal, tightly interlocking, raised, and rounded.
Abronia campbelli, commonly known as Campbell's alligator lizard, is species of critically endangered arboreal alligator lizard in the family Anguidae. Abronia campbelli is endemic to eastern Guatemala.
The Anzuetoi arboreal alligator lizard, also known commonly as Anzueto's arboreal alligator lizard, is a species of lizard in the family Anguidae. The species is endemic to Volcán de Agua in Guatemala.
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.
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.
Odaxosaurus is an extinct genus of anguid lizards that existed in western North America from the Late Cretaceous to the Paleocene. Fossils of the type species Odaxosaurus piger and the species O. priscus are widespread throughout Late Cretaceous formations in the western United States and Canada. First described in 1928 from the Lance Formation in Wyoming, O. piger has since been found in the Hell Creek Formation in Wyoming and Montana, the Frenchman and Scollard formations in Alberta, and the Aguja Formation in Texas. It was one of the few species of lizards to survive the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event, which is estimated to have killed off 83% of all lizard species. The second species, O. priscus, was named in 1996 from the Dinosaur Park Formation in Alberta and has since been found in the Kaiparowits Formation in southern Utah. Remains of an anguid from the Kirtland Formation in New Mexico may also belong to Odaxosaurus.
