Lacertibaenia

Lacertibaenia
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Superorder:	Lepidosauria
Order:	Squamata
Clade:	Lacertoidea
Clade:	Lacertibaenia Vidal & Hedges, 2005
Subgroups
Amphisbaenia Lacertidae

Lacertibaenia is a clade of squamate reptiles that unites the worm lizards (Amphisbaenia) with the true lizards (Lacertidae). The clade was named by Vidal & Hedges (2005), who recovered the group from analyses of nine nuclear protein-coding genes within their broader clade Laterata (Lacertoidea). ^[1] Subsequent molecular datasets with broader gene and taxon sampling have repeatedly recovered amphisbaenians as sister to lacertids, corroborating the monophyly of Lacertibaenia. ^{[2] [3]} A 2024 satellite-DNA study further supported Lacertibaenia as a coherent lineage. ^[4]

Evolutionary history

An important fossil relevant to Lacertibaenia is the Messel fossil Cryptolacerta hassiaca, which Müller et al. (2011) interpreted as shedding light on amphisbaenian origins and supporting a close relationship with lacertids. ^[5] Additional paleontological work has proposed Late Cretaceous stem-amphisbaenians ( Slavoia ) and explored trait evolution associated with fossoriality in worm lizards. ^{[6] [7]}

Taxonomy and systematics

Vidal & Hedges (2005) erected Lacertibaenia within the larger clade Laterata, which they subdivided as Teiformata (Gymnophthalmidae + Teiidae) and Lacertibaenia (Amphisbaenia + Lacertidae). ^[1] Their classification was refined in a later synthesis focusing on squamate molecular evolution and divergence times, ^[8] and has been widely adopted in subsequent molecular phylogenies of Squamata. ^{[2] [3]}

Within Laterata/Lacertoidea, Teiformata is usually recovered as the sister group to Lacertibaenia. ^{[1] [2]} Some large-scale morphology-focused matrices have instead placed amphisbaenians in alternative positions, highlighting persistent conflict between data types and character sampling strategies. ^[9]

Included families

• Amphisbaenia (worm lizards: families Amphisbaenidae, Bipedidae, Rhineuridae, Trogonophidae). ^[10]

• Lacertidae (true lizards). ^[11]

References

1. Vidal, Nicolas; Hedges, S. Blair (2005). "The phylogeny of squamate reptiles (lizards, snakes, and amphisbaenians) inferred from nine nuclear protein-coding genes". Comptes Rendus Biologies. 328 (10–11): 1000–1008. doi:10.1016/j.crvi.2005.10.001. PMID   16286089.
2. Wiens, J. J.; et al. (2012). "Resolving the phylogeny of lizards and snakes (Squamata) with extensive sampling of genes and species" (PDF). Biology Letters. 8 (6): 1043–1046. doi:10.1098/rsbl.2012.0703. PMID   22993238.
3. Pyron, R. Alexander; Burbrink, Frank T.; Wiens, John J. (2013). "A phylogeny and revised classification of Squamata, including 4161 species of lizards and snakes". BMC Evolutionary Biology. 13 (93): 1–53. Bibcode:2013BMCEE..13...93P. doi: 10.1186/1471-2148-13-93 . PMC   3682911 . PMID   23627680.
4. Nisi Cerioni, P.; Giovannotti, M.; Slimani, T.; S'khifa, A.; Splendiani, A.; Fioravanti, T.; Crosetto, S.; Olmo, E. (2024). "Satellite DNA supports the monophyly of Lacertibaenia (Amphisbaenia and Lacertidae) in squamate phylogeny". The European Zoological Journal. 91 (2): 804–816. doi: 10.1080/24750263.2024.2376594 .
5. Müller, Johannes; Hipsley, Christy A.; Head, Jason J.; Kardjilov, Nikola; Hilger, Andreas; Wuttke, Michael; Reisz, Robert R. (2011). "Eocene lizard from Germany reveals amphisbaenian origins". Nature. 473 (7347): 364–367. Bibcode:2011Natur.473..364M. doi:10.1038/nature09919. PMID   21593869.
6. Tałanda, Mateusz (2016). "Cretaceous roots of the amphisbaenian lizards" . Zoologica Scripta. 45 (1): 1–8. doi:10.1111/zsc.12138.
7. Tałanda, Mateusz (2017). "Evolution of postcranial skeleton in worm lizards inferred from its status in the Cretaceous stem-amphisbaenian Slavoia darevskii" (PDF). Acta Palaeontologica Polonica. 62 (4): 839–845. doi:10.4202/app.00294.2016.
8. Vidal, Nicolas; Hedges, S. Blair (2009). "The molecular evolutionary tree of lizards, snakes, and amphisbaenians". Comptes Rendus Biologies. 332 (2–3): 129–139. doi:10.1016/j.crvi.2008.07.010. PMID   19281946.
9. Gauthier, Jacques A.; Kearney, Maureen; Maisano, Jennifer A.; Rieppel, Olivier; Behlke, Adolf D. B. (2012). "Assembling the squamate tree of life" (PDF). Bulletin of the Peabody Museum of Natural History. 53 (1): 3–308. doi:10.3374/014.053.0101.
10. Gans, Carl (2005). "Checklist and bibliography of the Amphisbaenia of the world". Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History. 289 (289): 1–130. doi:10.1206/0003-0090(2005)289<0001:CABOTA>2.0.CO;2.
11. Pyron, R. A.; Burbrink, F. T.; Wiens, J. J. (2013). "A phylogeny and revised classification of Squamata, including 4161 species of lizards and snakes". BMC Evolutionary Biology. 13 (93): 1–53. Bibcode:2013BMCEE..13...93P. doi: 10.1186/1471-2148-13-93 . PMC   3682911 . PMID   23627680.

Further reading

• Longrich, N. R. (2015). "Biogeography of worm lizards (Amphisbaenia) driven by end-Cretaceous mass extinction". Proceedings of the Royal Society B. 282 (1807) 20143034. doi:10.1098/rspb.2014.3034. PMC   4426617 . PMID   25833855.

• Simões, T. R. (2021). "The Squamate Tree of Life" (PDF). Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology. 163 (2): 47–95. doi:10.3099/0027-4100-163.2.47.

• Evans, S. E.; Jones, M. E. H.; Matsumoto, R. (2012). "A new lizard skull from the Purbeck Limestone Group (Lower Cretaceous) of England" (PDF). Bulletin de la Société Géologique de France. 183 (6): 517–524. doi:10.2113/gssgfbull.183.6.517.