This is a list of the extant lizard families. Lizards are an informal group of squamates.
There are five infraorders which separate the lizards, these are: Diploglossa, Gekkota, Iguania, Platynota and Scincomorpha. This separation is based mainly on morphological similarities between family groups.
The Diploglossans and Platynotans are two closely related infraorders which are very diverse families. Very few generalisations can be placed upon these families morphologically. Many species are limbless, while others have fully formed limbs. It is believed that these lizards are the closest lizard relation to the snakes.
The Gekkotans are the second most diverse group of lizards. They can be morphologically distinguished by the absence of temporal arches, which allows greater moveability of the head. Most species also have cloacal sacs and fixed eyelids.
The Iguanians are another diverse group of lizards. All iguanians are fully limbed. Most species ambush their prey, capture it with their tongue and have skin modification, such as crests and fans, used for many different reasons.
The Scincomorphs are the most diverse group of lizards, accounting for almost half the species of lizards. The major distinguishing morphological feature of the Scincomorphs, is the presence of unsocketed teeth on the inner face of the jaw bones. They also lack the skin modifications present in many of the iguanians. This family contains varying degrees of limb reduction, from completely formed limbs to completely absent of limbs.
As with most taxonomic classifications, there are many different interpretations of the evolutionary relationships. These include moving of families to different infraorders, merging or splitting of the infraorders and merging and splitting of the families.
| Diploglossa | |||
| Family | Common Names | Example Species | Example Photo |
|---|---|---|---|
| Anguidae Oppel, 1811 | Glass lizards | Slowworm (Anguis fragilis) | |
| Anniellidae Gray, 1852 | American legless lizards | California legless lizard (Anniella pulchra) | |
| Xenosauridae Cope, 1866 | Knob-scaled lizards | Chinese crocodile lizard (Shinisaurus crocodilurus) | |
| Gekkota | |||
| Family | Common Names | Example Species | Example Photo |
| Dibamidae Boulenger, 1884 | Blind lizards | Dibamus nicobaricum | - |
| Gekkonidae Gray, 1825 | Geckos | Thick-tailed Gecko (Underwoodisaurus milii) | |
| Pygopodidae Boulenger, 1884 | Legless lizards | Burton's legless lizard (Lialis burtonis) | - |
| Iguania | |||
| Family | Common Names | Example Species | Example Photo |
| Agamidae Spix, 1825 | Agamas | Eastern bearded dragon (Pogona barbata) | |
| Chamaeleonidae Gray, 1825 | Chameleons | Veiled chameleon (Chamaeleo calyptratus) | |
| Corytophanidae Frost & Etheridge, 1989 | Casquehead lizards | Plumed basilisk (Basiliscus plumifrons) | |
| Crotaphytidae Frost & Etheridge, 1989 | Collared and leopard lizards | Common collared lizard (Crotaphytus collaris) | |
| Hoplocercidae Frost & Etheridge, 1989 | Wood lizards or clubtails | Club tail iguana (Hoplocercus spinosus) | - |
| Iguanidae | Iguanas | Marine iguana (Amblyrhynchus cristatus) | |
| Leiosauridae Frost et al., 2001 | - | Darwin's iguana (Diplolaemus darwinii) | - |
| Opluridae Frost & Etheridge, 1989 | Madagascan iguanas | Chalarodon (Chalarodon madagascariensis) | - |
| Phrynosomatidae Frost & Etheridge, 1989 | Earless, spiny, tree, side-blotched and horned lizards | Greater earless lizard (Cophosaurus texanus) | |
| Polychrotidae Frost & Etheridge, 1989 | Anoles | Caronlina anole (Anolis carolinensis) | |
| Tropiduridae Frost & Etheridge, 1989 | Neotropical ground lizards | (Microlophus peruvianus) | |
| Platynota | |||
| Family | Common Names | Example Species | Example Photo |
| Helodermatidae | Gila monsters | Gila Monster (Heloderma suspectum) | |
| Lanthanotidae | Earless Monitor | Earless Monitor (Lanthanotus borneensis) | - |
| Varanidae | Monitors lizards | Perentie (Varanus giganteus) | |
| Scincomorpha | |||
| Family | Common Names | Example Species | Example Photo |
| Cordylidae | Spinytail lizards | Girdle-tailed lizard (Cordylus warreni) | |
| Gerrhosauridae | Plated lizards | Sudan Plated Lizard (Gerrhosaurus major) | |
| Gymnophthalmidae | Spectacled lizards | - | - |
| Lacertidae Oppel, 1811 | Wall or true lizards | Ocellated Lizard (Lacerta lepida) | |
| Scincidae Oppel, 1811 | Skinks | Western Blue-tongued Skink (Tiliqua occipitalis) | |
| Teiidae | Tegus or whiptails | Blue Tegu (Tupinambis teguixin) | |
| Xantusiidae | Night lizards | Granite Night Lizard (Xantusia henshawi) | |