Teiformata
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Teiformata is a clade of squamate reptiles within Lacertoidea that comprises the New World lizard families Gymnophthalmidae and Teiidae.[2] The name was introduced in a molecular phylogenetic classification of squamates by Vidal and Hedges (2005).[1]
| Teiformata | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | Squamata |
| Clade: | Lacertoidea |
| Clade: | Teiformata Vidal & Hedges, 2005[1] |
| Families[2] | |
Taxonomy and systematics
Vidal and Hedges (2005) placed Teiformata within their higher-level grouping Laterata, alongside Lacertiformata and Amphisbaenia.[1] In that scheme, Lacertiformata and Amphisbaenia were recovered together as Lacertibaenia, distinct from Teiformata within Laterata.[1]
Phylogeny
Large-scale molecular phylogenies have supported a lacertoidean clade containing Gymnophthalmidae and Teiidae.[2] Within the same lacertoidean context, a separate clade uniting Lacertidae and Amphisbaenia has also been recovered, highlighting a major split among sampled lacertoidean lineages in these analyses.[2]
Distribution
Because both constituent families are New World groups, Teiformata is primarily an American clade in terms of the present-day distribution of its living members.[2]