Iguania

{{Short description|Suborder of lizards}} {{Automatic taxobox | fossil_range = {{fossilrange|Early Cretaceous|Recent}} | image = Leiocephalus-personatus-maskenleguan.jpg | image_caption = Hispaniolan masked curly-tailed lizard (''Leiocephalus personatus'') | image2 = BennyTrapp Chamaeleo chamaeleon Samos Griechenland.jpg | image2_caption = Common chameleon (''Chamaeleo chamaeleon'') | taxon = Iguania | authority = Cope, 1864 | display_parents = 2 | subdivision_ranks = Infraorders | subdivision = *Acrodonta *Pleurodonta }} '''Iguania''' is a suborder<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Van Hoek |first=Monique |date=2014-06-10 |title=Antimicrobial Peptides in Reptiles |journal=Pharmaceuticals |language=en |volume=7 |issue=6 |pages=723–753 |doi=10.3390/ph7060723 |pmid=24918867 |doi-access=free |issn=1424-8247|pmc=4078517 }}</ref> of squamate reptiles that includes iguanas, chameleons, agamids, and New World lizards. Using morphological features as a guide to evolutionary relationships, the Iguania are believed to form the sister group to the Squamata,<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Gauthier |first1=Jacques A. |author1-link=Jacques Gauthier |last2=Kearney |first2=Maureen |last3=Maisano |first3=Jessica Anderson |last4=Rieppel |first4=Olivier |last5=Behlke |first5=Adam D. B. |title=Assembling the Squamate Tree of Life: Perspectives from the Phenotype and the Fossil Record |journal=Bulletin of the Peabody Museum of Natural History |date=April 2012 |volume=53 |issue=1 |pages=3–308 |doi=10.3374/014.053.0101 |bibcode=2012BPMNH..53....3G |s2cid=86355757}}</ref> which comprise nearly 11,000 named species, roughly 2000 of which are iguanians. However, molecular information has placed Iguania well within the Squamata as sister taxa to the Anguimorpha and closely related to snakes.<ref name="Vidal2005">{{cite journal |last1=Vidal |first1=N. |last2=Hedges |first2=S. B. |title=The phylogeny of squamate reptiles (lizards, snakes, and amphisbaenians) inferred from nine nuclear protein-coding genes |journal=Comptes Rendus Biologies |volume=328 |issue=10–11 |year=2005 |pages=1000–1008 |doi=10.1016/j.crvi.2005.10.001 |pmid=16286089|url=https://comptes-rendus.academie-sciences.fr/biologies/articles/10.1016/j.crvi.2005.10.001/ |url-access=subscription }}</ref> The order has been under debate and revisions after being classified by Charles Lewis Camp in 1923 due to difficulties finding adequate synapomorphic morphological characteristics.<ref name=Detal12>{{cite journal |last1=Daza |first1=Juan D. |last2=Abdala |first2=Virginia |last3=Arias |first3=J. Salvador |last4=García-López |first4=Daniel |last5=Ortiz |first5=Pablo |title=Cladistic Analysis of Iguania and a Fossil Lizard from the Late Pliocene of Northwestern Argentina |journal=Journal of Herpetology |date=2012 |volume=46 |issue=1 |pages=104–119 |doi=10.1670/10-112 |jstor=41515023 |bibcode=2012JHerp..46..104D |s2cid=85405843|hdl=11336/61054 |hdl-access=free }}</ref> Most iguanians are arboreal but there are several terrestrial groups. They usually have primitive fleshy, non-prehensile tongues, although the tongue is highly modified in chameleons.{{Cn|date=January 2024}} Today they are scattered occurring in Madagascar, the Fiji and Friendly Islands and Western Hemisphere.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Moody |first1=Scott M. |title=Charles L. Camp and His 1923 Classification of Lizards: An Early Cladist? |journal=Systematic Zoology |date=June 1985 |volume=34 |issue=2 |pages=216–222 |doi=10.2307/2413329 |jstor=2413329}}</ref>

== Classification == The Iguania currently includes these extant families:<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Wiens |first1=John J. |last2=Hutter |first2=Carl R. |last3=Mulcahy |first3=Daniel G. |last4=Noonan |first4=Brice P. |last5=Townsend |first5=Ted M. |last6=Sites |first6=Jack W. |last7=Reeder |first7=Tod W. |title=Resolving the phylogeny of lizards and snakes (Squamata) with extensive sampling of genes and species |journal=Biology Letters |date=23 December 2012 |volume=8 |issue=6 |pages=1043–1046 |doi=10.1098/rsbl.2012.0703 |doi-access=free |pmid=22993238 |pmc=3497141 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Schulte |first1=James A. |last2=Valladares |first2=John Pablo |last3=Larson |first3=Allan |title=Phylogenetic Relationships within Iguanidae Inferred Using Molecular and Morphological Data and a Phylogenetic Taxonomy of Iguanian Lizards |journal=Herpetologica |date=2003 |volume=59 |issue=3 |pages=399–419 |doi=10.1655/02-48 |jstor=3893615 |bibcode=2003Herpe..59..399S |s2cid=56054202 }}</ref>

*Infraorder Acrodonta **Family Agamidae – agamid lizards, Old World arboreal lizards **Family Chamaeleonidae – chameleons *Infraorder Pleurodonta – American arboreal lizards, chuckwallas, iguanas ** Family Leiocephalidae ***Genus ''Leiocephalus'': curly-tailed lizards ** Family Corytophanidae – helmet lizards ** Family Crotaphytidae – collared lizards, leopard lizards ** Family Hoplocercidae – dwarf and spinytail iguanas ** Family Iguanidae – marine, Fijian, Galapagos land, spinytail, rock, desert, green, and chuckwalla iguanas ** Family Tropiduridae – tropidurine lizards ***subclade of Tropiduridae Tropidurini – neotropical ground lizards ** Family Dactyloidae – anoles ** Family Polychrotidae ***subclade of Polychrotidae ''Polychrus'' ** Family Phrynosomatidae – North American spiny lizards ** Family Liolaemidae – South American swifts ** Family Opluridae – Malagasy iguanas ** Family Leiosauridae – leiosaurs ***subclade of Leiosaurini Leiosaurae ***subclade of Leiosaurini Anisolepae

== Phylogeny == Below is a cladogram from the phylogenetic analysis of Daza ''et al.'' (2012) (a morphological analysis), showing the interrelationships of extinct and living iguanians:<ref name=Detal12/>

{{clade| style=font-size:80%;line-height:85% |label1='''Iguanomorpha''' |1={{clade |1={{extinct}}''Hoyalacerta sanzi'' |2={{clade |1={{clade |1={{extinct}}''Huehuecuetzpalli mixtecus'' |2={{extinct}}''Pristiguana brasiliensis''}} |label2='''Iguania''' |2={{clade |label1=Chamaeleontiformes |1={{clade |label1={{extinct}}Priscagamidae |1={{clade |1={{extinct}}''Mimeosaurus crassus'' |2={{clade |1={{extinct}}''Priscagama gobiensis'' |2={{extinct}}''Phrynosomimus asper''}} }} |label2=Acrodonta |2={{clade |1=''Physignathus'' |2={{clade |1={{clade |1=''Agama'' |2={{clade |1=''Uromastyx'' |2=''Leiolepis''}} }} |2={{clade |1=''Rhampholeon'' |2=''Brookesia''}} }} }} }} |label2=Iguanoidea (=Pleurodonta) |2={{clade |1={{clade |label1={{extinct}}Gobiguania |1={{clade |1={{extinct}}''Polrussia mongoliensis'' |2={{extinct}}''Igua minuta'' |3={{extinct}}''Isodontosaurus gracilis'' |4={{clade |1={{extinct}}''Anchaurosaurus gilmorei'' |2={{extinct}}''Zapsosaurus sceliphros''}} |5={{clade |1={{extinct}}''Saichangurvel davidsoni'' |2={{clade |1={{extinct}}''Temujinia ellisoni'' |2={{extinct}}''Ctenomastax parva''}} }} }} |label2=Silvaiguana |2={{clade |label1=Hoplocercidae |1={{clade |1=''Enyalioides'' |2={{clade |1=''Morunasaurus'' |2=''Hoplocercus''}} }} |label2=Polychrotidae |2={{clade |1={{clade |1=''Polychrus gutturosus'' |2={{clade |1=''Polychrus marmoratus'' |2={{clade |1=''Polychrus femoralis'' |2={{extinct}}''Afairiguana avius''}} }} }} |2={{clade |1={{clade |1=''Leiosaurus'' |2={{clade |1=''Anisolepis'' |2={{clade |1=''Enyalius'' |2=''Pristidactylus''}} }} }} |2={{clade |1={{extinct}}''Anolis electrum'' |2={{clade |1=''Anolis occultus'' |2={{clade |1=''Anolis heterodermus'' |2=''Anolis vermiculatus''}} }} }} }} }} }} }} |label2=Euiguana |2={{clade |label1=Corytophanidae |1={{clade |1=''Laemanctus'' |2={{clade |1=''Basiliscus'' |2=''Corytophanes''}} }} |label2=Terraiguana |2={{clade |1={{clade |1=Iguanidae |label2=Crotaphytidae |2={{clade |1=''Crotaphytus'' |2=''Gambelia''}} }} |2={{clade |label1=Phrynosomatidae |1={{clade |1=''Phrynosoma'' |2={{clade |1=''Uta'' |2={{clade |1={{clade |1=''Petrosaurus''}} |2={{clade |1=''Sceloporus'' |2=''Urosaurus''}} }} }} }} |2={{clade |label1=Opluridae |1={{clade |1=''Chalarodon madagascariensis'' |2={{clade |1=''Oplurus quadrimaculatus B'' |2={{clade |1=''Oplurus quadrimaculatus A'' |2=''Oplurus cyclurus''}} }} }} |2={{clade |1={{extinct}}''Uquiasaurus'' |2={{clade |label1=Liolaemidae |1={{clade |1=''Phymaturus'' |2={{clade |1=''Ctenoblepharys'' |2=''Liolaemus''}} }} |2={{clade |1=''Leiocephalus'' |label2=Tropiduridae |2={{clade |1=''Stenocercus'' |2={{clade |1=''Tropidurus'' |2=''Uranoscodon'' }} }} }} }} }} }} }} }} }} }} }} }} }} }} The extinct Arretosauridae (Paleogene iguanians from Central Asia) are alternatively classified in either the Acrodonta with other Old World iguanians, or in Pleurodonta as a sister group to the Crotaphytidae.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last=Alifanov |first=V. R. |date=2012-07-01 |title=Lizards of the family Arretosauridae Gilmore, 1943 (Iguanomorpha, Iguania) from the Paleogene of Mongolia |journal=Paleontological Journal |language=en |volume=46 |issue=4 |pages=412–420 |doi=10.1134/S0031030112040028 |bibcode=2012PalJ...46..412A |s2cid=119087759 |issn=1555-6174}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Bolet |first1=Arnau |last2=Stubbs |first2=Thomas L |last3=Herrera-Flores |first3=Jorge A |last4=Benton |first4=Michael J |date=2022-05-03 |editor-last=Zhu |editor-first=Min |editor2-last=Perry |editor2-first=George H |editor3-last=Zhu |editor3-first=Min |title=The Jurassic rise of squamates as supported by lepidosaur disparity and evolutionary rates |journal=eLife |volume=11 |article-number=e66511 |doi=10.7554/eLife.66511 |pmid=35502582 |issn=2050-084X|pmc=9064307 |doi-access=free }}</ref>

== Conservation status == As of 2020 The IUCN Red List of endangered species lists 63.3% of the species as Least concern, 6.7% Near Threatened, 8.2 vulnerable, 9.1% endangered, 3.1% critically endangered, 0.3 extinct and 9.2% data deficient. The major threats include agriculture, residential and commercial development.

== References == {{Reflist}}

== Further reading == {{Commons category}} * {{cite book |last1=Frost |first1=Darrel R. |last2=Etheridge |first2=Richard |title=A Phylogenetic Analysis and Taxonomy of Iguanian Lizards (Reptilia: Squamata) |date=1989 |publisher=University of Kansas |isbn=978-0-89338-033-5 }} * {{cite journal |last1=Frost |first1=Darrel R. |last2=Etheridge |first2=Richard |last3=Janies |first3=Daniel |last4=Titus |first4=Tom A. |title=Total Evidence, Sequence Alignment, Evolution of Polychrotid Lizards, and a Reclassification of the Iguania (Squamata: Iguania) |journal=American Museum Novitates |date=June 2001 |issue=3343 |pages=1–39 |doi=10.1206/0003-0082(2001)343<0001:TESAEO>2.0.CO;2 |s2cid=55299129 |url=https://zenodo.org/record/5371290 |doi-access=free }}

Category:Iguanomorpha Category:Early Jurassic first appearances Category:Toxicofera Category:Taxa named by Edward Drinker Cope