| Teiformata | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | Squamata |
| Clade: | Lacertoidea |
| Clade: | Teiformata Vidal & Hedges, 2005 [1] |
| Families [2] | |
Teiformata is a clade of squamate reptiles within Lacertoidea that comprises the New World lizard families Gymnophthalmidae and Teiidae. [2] The name was introduced in a molecular phylogenetic classification of squamates by Vidal and Hedges (2005). [1]
Vidal and Hedges (2005) placed Teiformata within their higher-level grouping Laterata, alongside Lacertiformata and Amphisbaenia. [1] In that scheme, Lacertiformata and Amphisbaenia were recovered together as Lacertibaenia, distinct from Teiformata within Laterata. [1]
Large-scale molecular phylogenies have supported a lacertoidean clade containing Gymnophthalmidae and Teiidae. [2] Within the same lacertoidean context, a separate clade uniting Lacertidae and Amphisbaenia has also been recovered, highlighting a major split among sampled lacertoidean lineages in these analyses. [2]
Because both constituent families are New World groups, Teiformata is primarily an American clade in terms of the present-day distribution of its living members. [2]