Kingdom Animalia Clade Iguanomorpha Higher classification Toxicofera | Phylum Chordata Scientific name Iguania Rank Suborder | |
 | ||
Lifespan Veiled chameleon: 5 years Mass Green iguana: 4 kg, Central bearded dragon: 280 – 510 g, Blue iguana: 14 kg Length Green iguana: 30 – 42 cm, Veiled chameleon: 35 – 45 cm Lower classifications Chameleons, Agamidae, Common Iguanas, Liolaemus, Anoles | ||
The Iguania are a suborder of the Squamata (snakes and lizards) that contains the iguanas, chameleons, agamids, and New World lizards, such as anoles and phrynosomatids. Using morphological features as a guide to evolutionary relationships, the Iguania are believed to form the sister group to the remainder of the Squamata. However, molecular information has placed Iguania well within the Squamata as sister taxa to the Anguimorpha and closely related to snakes. Iguanians are largely arboreal and have primitively fleshy, nonprehensile tongues, although the condition is highly modified in chameleons. The group has a fossil record that extends back to the Early Jurassic (the oldest known member is Bharatagama, which lived about 190 million years ago in what is now India).
Contents
Classification
The Iguania currently include these extant families:
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:
