Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
An adult salamander generally resembles a small lizard, having a basal tetrapod body form with a cylindrical trunk, four limbs, and a long tail. Except in the family Salamandridae, the head, body, and tail have a number of vertical depressions in the surface which run from the mid-dorsal region to the ventral area and are known as costal ...
Dibamidae or blind skinks is a family of lizards characterized by their elongated cylindrical body and an apparent lack of limbs. [1] Female dibamids are entirely limbless and the males retain small flap-like hind limbs, which they use to grip their partner during mating. [1] [2] They have a rigidly fused skull, lack pterygoid teeth and ...
Teiidae is a family of Lacertoidean lizards native to the Americas. Members of this family are generally known as whiptails or racerunners ; however, tegus also belong to this family. Teiidae is sister to the Gymnopthalmidae , and both families comprise the Teiioidea.
Squamata (/ s k w æ ˈ m eɪ t ə /, Latin squamatus, 'scaly, having scales') is the largest order of reptiles, comprising lizards and snakes.With over 12,162 species, [3] it is also the second-largest order of extant (living) vertebrates, after the perciform fish.
Aside from legless lizards, most lizards are quadrupedal and move using gaits with alternating movement of the right and left limbs with substantial body bending. This body bending prevents significant respiration during movement, limiting their endurance, in a mechanism called Carrier's constraint .
Second, most lepidosaurs have the ability to autotomize their tails. However, this trait has been lost on some recent species. In lizards and rhynchocephalians, fracture planes are present within the vertebrae of the tail that allow for its removal. Some lizards have multiple fracture planes, while others just have a single fracture plane.
It was a small, lizard-like animal, about 20 to 30 centimetres (7.9 to 11.8 in) long, with numerous sharp teeth indicating an insectivorous diet. [40] Other examples include Westlothiana (for the moment considered a reptiliomorph rather than a true amniote) [41] and Paleothyris, both of similar build and presumably similar habit.
Like most lizards, geckos can lose their tails in defence, a process called autotomy; the predator may attack the wriggling tail, allowing the gecko to escape. [ 8 ] The largest species, Gigarcanum delcourti , is only known from a single, stuffed specimen probably collected in the 19th century found in the basement of the Natural History Museum ...