Temporal range: Middle Triassic - Present,[1]240–0 Ma
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Collage of five lepidosaurs. Clockwise from top left: tuatara, black mamba, green iguana, Smaug breyeri and reticulated python
Scientific classification
Domain:
Eukaryota
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Chordata
Class:
Reptilia
Clade:
Lepidosauromorpha
Superorder:
Lepidosauria Haeckel, 1866
Orders
Rhynchocephalia
†Vellbergia?
Pan-Squamata
†Sophineta?
†Megachirella?
†Marmoretta?
†Tamaulipasaurus?
†Hongshanxi
†Bellairsia
†Oculudentavis
†Huehuecuetzpalli
Squamata
The Lepidosauria (/ˌlɛpɪdoʊˈsɔːriə/, from Greek meaning scaled lizards) is a subclass or superorder of reptiles, containing the orders Squamata and Rhynchocephalia. Squamata includes lizards and snakes.[2] Squamata contains over 9,000 species, making it by far the most species-rich and diverse order of non-avian reptiles in the present day.[3] Rhynchocephalia was a formerly widespread and diverse group of reptiles in the Mesozoic Era.[4] However, it is represented by only one living species: the tuatara (Sphenodon punctatus), a superficially lizard-like reptile native to New Zealand.[5][6]
Lepidosauria is a monophyletic group (i.e. a clade), containing all descendants of the last common ancestor of squamates and rhynchocephalians.[7] Lepidosaurs can be distinguished from other reptiles via several traits, such as large keratinous scales which may overlap one another. Purely in the context of modern taxa, Lepidosauria can be considered the sister taxon to Archelosauria, which includes Testudines (turtles), Aves (birds) and Crocodilia (crocodilians). Lepidosauria is encompassed by Lepidosauromorpha, a broader group defined as all reptiles (living or extinct) closer to lepidosaurs than to archosaurs.
^Jones, Marc EH; Anderson, Cajsa Lisa; Hipsley, Christy A; Müller, Johannes; Evans, Susan E; Schoch, Rainer R (25 September 2013). "Integration of molecules and new fossils supports a Triassic origin for Lepidosauria (lizards, snakes, and tuatara)". BMC Evolutionary Biology. 13: 208. doi:10.1186/1471-2148-13-208. PMC 4016551. PMID 24063680.
^Pyron, RA; Burbrink, FT; Wiens, JJ (2013). "A phylogeny and revised classification of Squamata, including 4,161 species of lizards and snakes". BMC Evolutionary Biology. 13: 93. doi:10.1186/1471-2148-13-93. PMC 3682911. PMID 23627680.
^Uetz, Peter (13 January 2010). "The original descriptions of reptiles". Zootaxa. 2334 (1): 59–68. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.2334.1.3.
^Jones, M.E.H. (2009). "Dentary Tooth Shape in Sphenodon and Its Fossil Relatives (Diapsida: Lepidosauria: Rhynchocephalia)". Frontiers of Oral Biology. 13: 9–15. doi:10.1159/000242382. ISBN 978-3-8055-9229-1. PMID 19828962.
^Hay, Jennifer M.; Sarre, Stephen D.; Lambert, David M.; Allendorf, Fred W.; Daugherty, Charles H. (June 2010). "Genetic diversity and taxonomy: a reassessment of species designation in tuatara (Sphenodon: Reptilia)". Conservation Genetics. 11 (3): 1063–1081. doi:10.1007/s10592-009-9952-7. hdl:10072/30480. S2CID 24965201.
^Jones, M.E.H.; Cree, A. (2012). "Tuatara". Current Biology. 22 (23): 986–987. doi:10.1016/j.cub.2012.10.049. PMID 23218010.
^Evans, S.E.; Jones, M.E.H. (2010). "The Origin, early history and diversification of lepidosauromorph reptiles". In Bandyopadhyay, S. (ed.). New Aspects of Mesozoic Biodiversity. Lecture Notes in Earth Sciences. Vol. 132. pp. 27–44. doi:10.1007/978-3-642-10311-7_2. ISBN 978-3-642-10310-0.
The Lepidosauria (/ˌlɛpɪdoʊˈsɔːriə/, from Greek meaning scaled lizards) is a subclass or superorder of reptiles, containing the orders Squamata and Rhynchocephalia...
Lepidosauromorpha (in PhyloCode known as Pan-Lepidosauria) is a group of reptiles comprising all diapsids closer to lizards than to archosaurs (which include...
Squamata, with the two orders being grouped together in the superorder Lepidosauria. Once representing the worlds dominant group of small reptiles, many...
diverse Rhynchocephalia, with both groups being placed in the clade Lepidosauria. Squamates are a monophyletic sister group to the rhynchocephalians,...
The Bengal monitor (Varanus bengalensis), also called the Indian monitor, is a species of monitor lizard distributed widely in the Indian subcontinent...
clade formed by archosaurs and lepidosaurs), as the sister branch to Lepidosauria, the clade containing lizards, snakes and the tuatara. Analyses based...
(1995). "First record of the early mesozoic sphenodontian clevosaurus (lepidosauria: rhynchocephalia) from the southern hemisphere". Journal of Paleontology...
ancestor of Archosauria (which includes crocodilians and birds) and Lepidosauria (which includes squamates and the tuatara), and all its descendants....
Reptiles are tetrapod animals in the class Reptilia, comprising today's turtles, crocodilians, snakes, amphisbaenians, lizards, tuatara, and their extinct...
now-extinct members of the order Rhynchocephalia, belong to the superorder Lepidosauria, the only surviving taxon within Lepidosauromorpha along with the order...
There is only one known land reptile species native to Ireland, the viviparous or common lizard. It appears to have a widespread distribution across the...
Sebastian; Carballido, Jose L. (March 2014). "A new eilenodontine (Lepidosauria, Sphenodontidae) from the Lower Cretaceous of central Patagonia". Journal...
Gutberlet Jr. 2012. Review of teiid morphology with a revised taxonomy and phylogeny of the Teiidae (Lepidosauria: Squamata). Zootaxa, 3459(1), 156....
early morphological phylogenetic studies have placed turtles closer to Lepidosauria (tuataras, lizards, and snakes) than to Archosauria (crocodilians and...
retreat backwardly. Snakes belong to a group of reptiles called the Lepidosauria, which are reptiles with overlapping scales. They further are grouped...
other saurians that are more closely related to Protorosaurus than to Lepidosauria. In 2016, Martin Ezcurra named a subgroup of Archosauromorpha, Crocopoda...
"Integration of molecules and new fossils supports a Triassic origin for Lepidosauria (lizards, snakes, and tuatara)". BMC Evolutionary Biology. 13 (1): 208...
turtle Genus Pelochelys Genus Pelodiscus Genus Rafetus Genus Trionyx The Lepidosauria (from Greek meaning scaled lizards) are reptiles with overlapping scales...
Teiid Morphology with a Revised Taxonomy and Phylogeny of the Teiidae (Lepidosauria: Squamata)". Zootaxa. 3459: 1–156. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.3459.1.1. Pompeu...
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