Fig. 121.–Ptychozoon homalocephalum. × ⅔.

Sub-Fam. 3. Uroplatinae, composed of a few species of the genus Uroplates in

Madagascar. The distinctive characters of {513}these otherwise typical Geckos are
the fusion of the nasal bones into one, the small size of the interclavicle, and
the non-dilated shape of the clavicles.

Neither the Eublepharinae nor the Uroplatinae are more nearly related to other
Autosauri than are the other Geckos. They are modifications within the sub-order of
the Geckones.

Sub-Order 2. Lacertae.–Autosauri with procoelous, solid vertebrae, and with the

ventral portions of the clavicles not dilated.

Cope,[153] discarding outer appearances as deceptive in the classification of the

Lacertae, laid stress upon internal characters, notably the presence or absence of
osteoderms, the formation of the skull, and the structure of the tongue.
Boulenger[154] has followed and improved upon Cope's arrangement, and has
elaborated the classification, which, being used by himself in the three volumes of
the Catalogue of Lizards in the British Museum, has also been followed in the
present work, with slight alterations in the order of treatment of the families.
For our present purpose we diagnose the families as follows, giving preference to
such characters as are most easily ascertained:–

Synopsis of the Families of Lacertae.

Fam. 1. Agamidae. Acrodont. Tongue broad and thick. No osteoderms. Old World,
p. 515.
Fam. 2. Iguanidae. Pleurodont. Tongue short and thick. No osteoderms. America,
Madagascar, Fiji Islands, p. 528.
Fam. 3. Xenosauridae. Pleurodont, solid teeth. Anterior part of tongue
retractile. No osteoderms on the body. Mexico, p. 536.
Fam. 4. Zonuridae. Pleurodont. Tongue short, not retractile. With osteoderms
at least upon the skull, where they roof in the supratemporal fossae. African sub-
region, p. 536.
Fam. 5. Anguidae. Pleurodont, solid teeth. Anterior part of tongue
emarginate, retractile into the posterior portion. Osteoderms on body and head,
roofing over the supratemporal fossae. Limbs mostly reduced. America, Europe,
India, p. 537.
Fam. 6. Helodermatidae. Pleurodont, lower teeth grooved, with poison-glands.
Tongue bifid. Osteoderms tiny. Postfronto-squamosal arch absent, p. 540.
{514}

Fam. 7. Lanthanotidae.
Pleurodont. Tongue short and bifid. Postfronto-squamosal arch absent. No
osteoderms. Borneo, p. 541.
Fam. 8. Varanidae. Pleurodont. Tongue very long, bifid, smooth, very
protractile. No osteoderms. Postorbital and temporal arches incomplete. Old World,
p. 542.
Fam. 9. Xantusiidae. Pleurodont. Tongue very short and scaly. No osteoderms.
Supratemporal fossa roofed over by the cranial bones. No movable eyelids. Central
America and Cuba, p. 547.
Fam. 10. Tejidae. Teeth solid, almost acrodont. Tongue long, deeply bifid,
with papillae. No osteoderms. Limbs sometimes reduced. America, p. 547.
Fam. 11. Lacertidae. Pleurodont. Tongue long, bifid, with papillae or folds.
With osteoderms on the head. Supratemporal fossae roofed over by the cranial bones.
Old World, p. 549.
Fam. 12. Gerrhosauridae. Pleurodont. Tongue long, with papillae, but feebly
nicked. With osteoderms on the head and body, roofing over the supratemporal
fossae. African sub-region, p. 559.
Fam. 13. Scincidae. Pleurodont. Tongue scaly, feebly nicked. Osteoderms on the
head and body. Limbs often reduced. Cosmopolitan, p. 559.

The following five "families" are much degraded in conformity with their usually
subterranean life, see p. 496:–
Fam. 14. Anelytropidae. Without limbs. Body covered with scales. Mexico and
Africa, p. 564.
Fam. 15. Dibamidae. Vermiform, limbless body covered with scales, without
osteoderms. Australasia and Nicobar Islands, p. 564.
Fam. 16. Aniellidae. Without limbs; body covered with scales, without
osteoderms. California, p. 564.
Fam. 17. Amphisbaenidae. The body is covered with soft skin, forming numerous
rings with mere vestiges of scales. Without limbs, except Chirotes with four-clawed
fore-limbs, p. 565.
Fam. 18. Pygopodidae. Snake-shaped, with scales. Fore-limbs absent, hind-limbs
appearing as a pair of scaly flaps. Australia, p. 567.

These eighteen "families" of the Lacertae fall into four main groups. We naturally
assume that the presence of osteoderms and of complete cranial arches indicate more
archaic conditions than their absence, just as we conclude that limbless forms have
been evolved from creatures with fully developed limbs. We arrange the four groups
with their families as follows:–
{515}
Group I.

Zonuridae and Anguidae assume a central position, with Iguanidae and Agamidae as
two parallel families of highest development. Aniellidae as the most degraded
forms. Helodermatidae and Lanthanotidae as rather primitive and solitary survivals.

Lacertae Group I.
Group II. Xantusiidae–Tejidae–Amphisbaenidae.
Group III. Scincidae–Gerrhosauridae–Lacertidae.–Here also Anelytropidae and
perhaps also Dibamidae as degraded Scincoids.
Group IV. Varanidae, which are in many respects the most highly developed of all.
Pygopodidae are of obscure relationship.
fig122

Fig. 122.–Map showing the distribution of the Agamidae.

Fam. 1. Agamidae.–Acrodont, Old-World Lizards, with a broad and short tongue. The
teeth are usually differentiated into incisors, canines, and molars. The orbit is
closed posteriorly; the temporal fossa is bridged over by an arch which is formed
chiefly by the squamosal and the well-developed jugal; the postorbital mostly
remaining small, and the postfrontal and supratemporal bones being either absent or
not present as separate elements. The limbs are well developed. The eye, provided
with complete eyelids, is distinctly small and has a round pupil. The skin is
devoid of osteoderms, although large and numerous spines are often present,
especially on the head and on the tail. The Agamidae, of which about two hundred
species, arranged {516}in about thirty genera, are known, exhibit a great diversity
of mostly flat-bodied, terrestrial and more laterally compressed, arboreal forms.
The majority are insectivorous, a few Agamas have a mixed diet, while Uromastix and
some others are chiefly, if not entirely, frugivorous and herbivorous. They are an
exclusively Old-World family, avoiding the cooler parts of the Palaearctic sub-
region, and also, a very curious fact, Madagascar. The majority live in Australia
and in the Indian and Malay countries, comparatively few in Africa, chiefly the
genus Agama.
fig123

Fig. 123.–Draco volans. × ⅔.

Draco ("Flying Dragon").–