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Distribution of Lacertidae
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- Taxonomy
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- Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Class: Reptilia
Subclass: Lepidosauria
- Order: Squamata
- Suborder: Sauria
- Infraorder: Scincomorpha
- Family: Lacertidae
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- I. Introduction
This Old World family of
lizards is the oldest group described. They range throughout Europe, Asia, Africa and the Indo-Australian Archipelago. There are only two
subfamilies.
Lacertids do not vary much in appearance, they are mostly "typical" lizards. Colour ranges from green, reddish, brown, yellow, gray and black. Dorsal scales are often uniformly small and granular, although the enlarged
scales of the head may have
osteoderms. The belly usually has larger scales similar in appearance to snake scutes, and the scales of the tail are typically arranged in whorls. The head is conical with a pointed snout, and there is usually a
gular fold. There are typically five toes on their well-developed limbs, and the tail is long relative to the body and fragile. Eyelids are moveable but some species have a transparent window in their lower eyelid. The tongue has a very pronounced fork at the tip, and is long and slender. The teeth are mostly cylindrical, and teeth may be present on the palate. There are usually femoral or precloacal glands.
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- II. Members
Subfamilies:
Gallotiinae and Lacertinae.
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- III. Further Information
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Last modified: Sunday, February 12, 2006
Sources:
- "EMBL Reptile Database." 2005. European Molecular Biology Laboratory. <http://www.embl-heidelberg.de/~uetz/LivingReptiles.html>
- Halliday, T and K. Adler. 2002. Firefly Encylopedia of Reptiles and Amphibians. Firefly Books, Ltd.
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