Anguinae Explained
Anguinae is a subfamily of legless lizards in the family Anguidae, commonly called glass lizards, glass snakes or slow worms. The first two names come from the fact their tails easily break or snap off. Members of Anguinae are native to North America, Europe, Asia, and North Africa.
Evolution
They first appeared in Europe during the early Eocene, approximately 48.6 million years ago, originating from North American ancestors that crossed over from Greenland via the Thule Land Bridge and spread toward Asia sometime after the drying of the Turgai Strait at the beginning of the Oligocene, and then across the Bering Land Bridge to North America during the Miocene.
Description
Very vestigial hindlegs are present in Hyalosaurus and Pseudopus, but are entirely absent in the other genera.[1] Members of the group largely feed on insects and other invertebrates.[2] The largest living species, the Sheltopusik (Pseudopus apodus),[3] can reach lengths of 120cm (50inches).[4]
Taxonomy
The subfamily contains the following genera:
- Dopasia (7 species), native to eastern Asia
- Hyalosaurus (1 species), native to North Africa
- Ophisaurus (6 species), native to eastern North America
- Pseudopus (1 extant species, the Sheltopusik), native to Europe and Asia
- Anguis - slowworms (5 species), native to Europe and Western Asia
Relationships after Lavin & Girman, 2019:
Notes and References
- Lavin, & Girman, D. J. (2019). Phylogenetic relationships and divergence dating in the Glass Lizards (Anguinae). Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution., 133, 128–140.
- Web site: Anguidae . 2017-05-02 . Animal Diversity Web . en.
- Lambertz . Markus . Arenz . Nils . Grommes . Kristina . 2018-04-05 . Variability in pulmonary reduction and asymmetry in a serpentiform lizard: The sheltopusik, Pseudopus apodus (Pallas, 1775) . Vertebrate Zoology . 68 . 1 . 21–26 . 10.3897/vz.68.e32216 . 2625-8498. free .
- Glavaš . Olga Jovanović . Počanić . Paula . Lovrić . Vanja . Derežanin . Lorena . Tadić . Zoran . Lisičić . Duje . 2020-03-01 . Morphological and ecological divergence in two populations of European glass lizard, Pseudopus apodus (Squamata: Anguidae) . Zoological Research . en . 41 . 2 . 172–181 . 10.24272/j.issn.2095-8137.2020.025 . 2095-8137 . 7109015 . 32125102.
