Chamaeleontiformes

Chamaeleontiformes is a hypothesized clade (evolutionary grouping) of iguanian lizards defined as all taxa sharing a more recent common ancestor with Chamaeleo chamaeleon (the common chamaeleon) than with Hoplocercus spinosus (the Brazilian spiny-tailed lizard), Polychrus marmoratus (bush lizard), or Iguana iguana (green iguana). It was named by paleontologist Jack Conrad in 2008 to describe a clade recovered in his phylogenetic analysis that included the extinct genus Isodontosaurus, the extinct family Priscagamidae, and the living clade Acrodonta, which includes agamids and chameleons.[1] It is a stem-based taxon and one of two major clades within Iguania, the other being Pleurodonta. Below is a cladogram from Daza et al. (2012) showing this phylogeny:[2]

Iguanomorpha

Hoyalacerta sanzi

Huehuecuetzpalli mixtecus

Pristiguana brasiliensis

Iguania
Chamaeleontiformes

Priscagamidae

Acrodonta

Iguanoidea (=Pleurodonta)

Chamaeleontiformes
Temporal range: Late Cretaceous–present
Common chameleon, Chamaeleo chamaeleon
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Suborder: Iguania
Clade: Chamaeleontiformes
Conrad, 2008
Subgroups

Isodontosaurus?
Priscagamidae
Acrodonta

Other analyses place Priscagamidae outside Iguania altogether, resulting in a Chamaeleontiformes that only includes Isodontosaurus and Acrodonta. Below is a cladogram from Conrad (2015) with this phylogeny:[3]

Iguanomorpha

Priscagamidae

Gobiguania

Iguania
Chamaeleontiformes

Isodontosaurus gracilis

Acrodonta

Pleurodonta

References

  1. Conrad, J. L. (2008). "Phylogeny and Systematics of Squamata (Reptilia) Based on Morphology". Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History. 310: 1–182. doi:10.1206/310.1. hdl:2246/5915.
  2. Daza, J. D.; Abdala, V.; Arias, J. S.; García-López, D.; Ortiz, P. (2012). "Cladistic Analysis of Iguania and a Fossil Lizard from the Late Pliocene of Northwestern Argentina". Journal of Herpetology. 46: 104–119. doi:10.1670/10-112.
  3. Conrad, Jack L. (2015). "A New Eocene Casquehead Lizard (Reptilia, Corytophanidae) from North America". PLOS ONE. 10 (7): e0127900. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0127900. PMC 4489568. PMID 26131767.


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