Lab VII Tuatara, Lizards, and Amphisbaenids
Project Reminder Don t forget about your project! Written Proposals due and Presentations are given on 4/21!! Abby and Sarah will read over your written proposal once before you hand it in as long as you get it to us no later than one week before its due
Field Trip Reminder S. IL field trip scheduled for April 23-25 RSVP to Sarah ASAP and NO LATER than March 18
Field Trip Location
Tuatara Kingdom: Anamalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Reptilia Order: Rhynchocephalia Family: Sphenodontidae Genus: Sphenodon
Resemble Lizards Sphenodontidae Males lack copulatory organ Well developed parietal eye with small lens and retina on top of the head Lower thermal optima Retain lower temporal arch (lost in squamates)
Sphenodontidae Functioning third eye
Lizards Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Reptilia Order: Squamata Sub-order: Lacertilia
Anguidae Glass and Alligator Lizards Ophisaurus attenuatus translates to thin snake lizard Our IL species Elgaria translates to obscure
Elgaria
Ophisaurus attenuatus
Xenosauridae Knob scaled Lizards Shinisaurus - Chinese Crocodile Lizard Xenosaurus Knob scaled Lizards (Mexico)
Geckos Gekkonidae Very diverse family 2 basic groups (fixed vs movable eyelid) Tokay Gecko lovable pet? Leaf tail Gecko - Uroplatus House Gecko (Hemidactylus spp) Introduced to USA
World s smallest lizard Sphaerodactylus ariasae
Coleonyx* Ground geckos translates to sheathed claw
Agamidae Very cool and diverse family May not be monophyletic Moloch Draco Uromastyx gaining pet trade popularity
Chamaeleonidae Color changing ability Fused toes for grasping Eyes move independently
Corytophanidae Contains the well known Basilisk or Jesus Lizard
Walking on Water
Crotaphytidae Collared and Leopard Lizards Small granular scales, long tails Crotaphytus collaris Our IL introduced species Gambelia leopard lizard
Iguanidae Marine Iguana Amblyrhynchus Iguana iguana probably familiar to most people Dipsosaurus desert iguana (SW USA)
Sauromalus*
Phrynosomatidae Very common desert southwest family Callisaurus - zebra tailed lizard Holbrookia Lesser earless lizard
Phrynosomatidae Uta side blotched lizard Uma fringe toed lizard
Phrynosomatidae Phrynosoma horned lizard (video) Urosaurus Tree lizard looks like Sceloporus but without keeled scales
Sceloporus undulatus northern fence lizard. (look, its on a fence post!!) Phrynosomatidae
Anoles Polychrotidae Annoyingly popular in niche specialization research Norops sagrei Anolis equestris one of the few cool anoles Anolis carolinensis
Helodermatidae The best lizard family. Why? cuz they re venomous, that s why Heloderma suspectum Gila monster Heloderma horridum beaded lizard
Varanidae Possibly the sister taxon of snakes Only 1 genus Varanus Make great pets?
Lacertidae Wall Lizards Conical head on distinct neck At least 8 species are parthenogenetic
Scincidae Lots of world diversity 3 IL species Scincella lateralis Ground Skink Eumeces fasciatus male and female five-lined skink
Eumeces laticeps Broadheaded skink Scincidae
Teiidae Whiptails and Tegus Caiman lizard Cnemidophorous sexlineatus Black and White Tegu
The Amphisbaenians Worm lizards? Not really lizards, definitely not worms Not much known about them due to secretive lifestyles
Florida worm lizard Specialized burrower Rhineuridae* Rhineura
Bipedidae* Mexican worm lizards Small forelimbs used for burrowing