Leiosauridae

Leiosauridae is a family of iguanian lizards containing six genera and 34 species. The family is endemic to Central America and South America.

Taxonomy

A 2022 phylogenetic study found the Leiosauridae to be the sister taxa to the Opluridae, a unique family of iguanians endemic to Madagascar, and one of only two pleurodont lineages found outside the Americas (the other being the genus Brachylophus). This called into question the previous hypothesis of Opluridae being the last members of an ancient lineage of Gondwanan iguanians, as the study found that the Leiosauridae and Opluridae only diverged during the Paleocene, about 60 million years ago. Opluridae are now thought to have colonized Madagascar via oceanic dispersal from South America, either directly or indirectly.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

Genera

The family Leiosauridae contains the following genera:<ref>"Leiosauridae". The Reptile Database. www.reptile-database.org.</ref>

Genus	Image	Type species	Taxon author	Common name	Species
Anisolepis		A. undulatus Template:Small	Boulenger, 1885	Tree lizards	3
Diplolaemus	File:Diplolaemus darwinii 118575343.jpg D. darwinii	D. darwinii Template:Small	Bell, 1843	Patagonian lizards	4
Enyalius	File:Papa vento - Enyalius catenatus.jpg E. catenatus	E. catenatus Template:Small	Wagler, 1830	Fathead anoles	11
Leiosaurus	File:Leiosaurus bellii 91861708.jpg L. bellii	L. bellii Template:Small	Duméril & Bibron, 1837	Smooth iguanas	4
Pristidactylus	File:Pristidactylus achalensis 01.jpg P. achalensis	P. fasciatus Template:Small	Fitzinger, 1843	Big-headed iguanas	10
Urostrophus		U. vautieri Template:Small	Duméril & Bibron, 1837	Steppe iguanas	2

Further reading

• Frost, Darrel R.; Etheridge, Richard; Janies, Daniel; Titus, Tom A. (2001). "Total Evidence, Sequence Alignment, Evolution of Polychrotid Lizards, and a Reclassification of the Iguania (Squamata: Iguania)". American Museum Novitates (3343): 1-38. (Leiosauridae, new family, p. 12).

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