Added 14 September 2004. Last updated 6 November 2024: updated Anisolepis and added link to Urostrophus.

A look at the

IGUANIDS

Family IGUANIDAE

Introduction

This page accompanies the preceding on the two ways (at least!) of considering the classification of iguanid lizards. Since this is still a fairly contentious area, we have placed the genera in a simple alphabetical order rather than attempting to assign them to the various families and subfamilies. However, since there is disagreement even at the generic level, we have included some names which are now not recognised by some or all authorities, but which may occur in older literature.

It seems probably safe to say that there is more discussion over the huge number of anole-related lizards, and over the less well-known South American iguanids, than there is over the North American species.

Recent Synonyms

In an effort to tidy up the page, I have removed the synonyms, which can be found at the Reptile Database as follows:

Aptycholaemus, Aperopristis, Audantia, Chamaeleolis, Chamaelinorops, Cupriguanus, Deiroptyx, Garbesaura, Phenacosaurus, Polychroides, Xiphocercus	Polychrotidae
Abas, Ceiolaemus, Ophryoessoides, Pelusaurus, Platynotus, Proctotretus, Strobilurus, Vilcunia	Tropiduridae

The genus Sator has been synonymised with Sceloporus. The species known as Tropidodactylus onca has now been reassigned to the genus Anolis, as has the entire genus Norops. The genus name Mariguana on this page was a mistake.

NAVIGATION: As this is a large page we have placed a couple of navigation links in each genus box. Click on "B" to go to the Bibliography, or "I" to go back up to the index (Quick Links).

	QUICK INDEX
Amblyrhynchus, Marine Iguanas	Anisolepis, Tree Lizards	Anolis, Anoles
Basiliscus, Basilisks	Brachylophus, Fiji Iguanas	Callisaurus, Zebra Lizards
Chalarodon, Malagasy Iguana	Conolophus, Galapagos Land Iguanas	Cophosaurus, Greater Earless Lizard
Corytophanes, Crested/Helmeted Iguanas	Crotaphytus, Collared Lizards	Ctenoblepharis
Ctenosaura, Spiny-Tailed Iguanas	Cyclura, Rhinoceros Iguanas	Diplolaemus, Bell's, Darwin and Leopard Iguanas
Dipsosaurus, Desert Iguana	Enyalioides	Enyalius, Fathead Anoles
Garbesaura	Holbrookia, Earless Lizards	Hoplocercus, Weapontail
Iguana, Green Iguanas	Laemanctus, Coneheads	Leiocephalus, Curly-Tails
Leiosaurus, Anoles	Liolaemus, Snow Swifts	Microlophus, Pacific Iguanas
Morunasaurus, Spinytail Iguanas	Norops, Anoles	Oplurus, Malagasy Spiny-Tails/Swifts
Petrosaurus, Rock Lizards	Phymaturus, Andean Swifts	Phrynosoma, Horned Lizards
Plesiomicrolophus	Plica, Tree Runners/Lizards	Polychrus, Bush Anoles
Pristidactylus, Anoles	Sauromalus, Chuckwallas	Sceloporus, Swifts and Spiny Lizards
Stenocercus, Whorltail Iguanas	Tropidurus, Lava Lizards	Uma, Fringe-Toed Lizards
Uracentron, Thornytail Iguanas	Uranoscodon	Urosaurus, Tree, Brush and Small-Scaled Lizards
Urostrophus, Steppe Iguanas	Uta, Side-Blotched Lizards

Genus	Common Name	No. of Species	Distribution	Notes
Amblyrhynchus	Marine Iguaua	1	Galapagos Islands off Ecuador	The world's only marine lizard, inasmuch as it swims to the seabed once a day to consume plantlife for several minutes. Most of its time, however, is spent basking on the shore in very large colonies. There are several subspecies. B I
Anisolepis	Tree Lizards	3	Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay, Argentina	Reassigned to Urostrophus in 2023. B I
Anolis	Anoles	200+	Mainly Caribbean, also C & S America: 1 native to US, a few others introduced into Florida	A very large group of mostly small lizards, even after many species were removed to Norops and other genera.
Basiliscus	Basilisks	4	Central America and N South America	Medium-sized, fairly popular terrarium subjects that are unmistakeable in appearance. This applies particularly to males, who have a striking "fin" and crest along the dorsum. They tend to be highly-strung, so a large terrarium is necessary. B I
Brachylophus	Fiji Iguanas	2	Fiji and Tonga, New Hebrides	Bluish-green large iguanas whose appearance in the Pacific islands is normally attributed to rafting. They are heavily protected, but some herpetoculturists have succeeded in breeding them in captivity. B I
Callisaurus	Zebratail Lizard	1	USA (California, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico) and Mexico (Sonora and Sinaloa)	An interesting species to observe in nature, but usually a poor captive subject for all but specialists. B I
Chalarodon	Dwarf Malagasy Iguana	1	SW Madagascar	B I
Conolophus	Galapagos Land Iguanas	2	Galapagos Islands	??. B I
Cophosaurus	Greater Earless Lizard	1	USA, Mexico	B I
Corytophanes	Helmeted Iguanas	3	Mexico and Central America	Interesting crested species but challenging captives. B I
Crotaphytus	Collared Lizards	7	USA, Mexico	Pugnacious, predatory and attractive lizards who require fairly dry and hot conditions. A large cage is necessary to show off their behaviour, such as running on hindlimbs only. B I
Ctenoblepharis	??	1	Peru	B I
Ctenosaura	Spiny-Tailed Iguanas	14	Mainly Mexico, also Honduras, El Salvador, Guatamala and Costa Rica: introduced into USA in Florida and S Texas	??. B I
Cyclura	Rhino Iguanas/ Island Iguanas	8	Caribbean (inc. Jamaica, Cuba, Bahamas, Hispaniola, Puerto Rico and Cayman Islands)	Large, bulky and long-lived iguanas who live in colonies and have a necessity for their own kind: hence keeping a single individual is far from ideal. Unfortunately in the wild some populations and subspecies are very much endangered by predation and the degradation of habitat by humans and their commensals. B I
Diplolaemus	Bell's, Darwin's and Leopard Iguana	3	Argentina and Chile	B I
Dipsosaurus	Desert Iguana	1-2	SW USA, NW Mexico	Elegant and attractive iguanid, somewhat smaller than most of its relatives. It occupies very hot, dry areas, and seems to favour the locality of creosote bushes. If kept in captivity then humidity must be avoided at all costs. B I
Enyalioides	Dwarf Iguanas	7	Panama, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Brazil, Bolivia	??. B I
Enyalius	Fathead Anoles	8	Mainly Brazil, also Ecuador and Uruguay	??. B I
Gambelia	Leopard Lizards	3	US	Similar in behaviour and ecology to the Collared Lizards, Crotaphytus. B I
Holbrookia	Earless Lizards	4	USA, Mexico	??. B I
Hoplocercus	Weapontail	1	SE Brazil, Bolivia	B I
Iguana	Green Iguanas	2	Caribbean, Central and N South America	Green iguanas probably need no introduction, yet their care is more demanding than many would-be keepers realise. Full-sized adults can reach 6' in total length and require high humidity, lots of UV light and a daily vegetarian diet. They are among the most intelligent of lizards. If you are committed enough to keep a green iguana, try your local reptile sanctuary first, as many “igs” have been abandoned or given up in recent years and need good homes. B I
Laemanctus	Cone-Headed Lizards/Casque- Headed Iguanas	2	Mexico, Belize, Honduras, Guatemala, Nicaragua	??. B I
Leiocephalus	Curly-Tails	28	Caribbean??	B I
Leiosaurus	Anoles	3	Mainly Argentina, also Brazil and Paraguay	B I
Liolaemus	Snow Swifts, Tree Iguanas	154	S South America	Despite the huge size of this genus, there is little commonly available information on the species which enter, or have entered, the pet trade in recent years. This is a pity, firstly because the different species have diverse requirements, and secondly because many are attractive subjects who will probably do well if kept properly. Many hail from the Andes where conditions can be quite cold, hence the common name. B I
Microlophus	Pacific Iguanas	20	?	??. B I
Morunasaurus	Spinytail Iguanas	3	Panama, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru	Latest species named in 2003. B I
Norops	Anoles	150+	Mainly Caribbean, also C America, N & South America	Norops was a group of species that were separated from the genus Anolis. It includes such well-known anole lizards as Norops sagrei, the Brown Anole. More recently the genus was invalidated. B I
Oplurus	Malagasy Spiny-Tails/ Malagasy Swifts	6	Madagascar	B I
Petrosaurus	Rock Lizards	2	USA, Mexico	B I
Phymaturus	Andean Chuckwallas	10	Mainly Argentina, also Chile	Referred to as "Chilean chuckwallas" by Bosch & Werning: as most are now found in Argentina, I have referred to them by the common name here.
Phrynosoma	Horned "Toads"	14	Mainly Mexico, also Guatemala, USA: poss. 2 in S Canada	In appearance and ecology these unusual lizards are somewhat similar to the Australian agama Moloch horridus. They too live in desert conditions and are primarily ant-eaters, though some will take other food as well. However, none do particularly well in captivity owing to both dietary and low-humidity requirements, and most people should forego keeping these animals. When threatened, some Phrynosoma have the ability to squirt a jet of blood from the corner of their eyes, startling would-be predators. B I
Plesiomicrolophus		11	??	B I
Plica	Tree Runners, Tree Lizards	8	Colombia, Venezuela, Guyana, Surinam, French Guiana, Trinidad, Brazil, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador	Arboreal species. B I
Polychrus	Bush Anoles	6	Brazil, Uruguay, Paraguay, Argentina, Bolivia, Ecuador, Peru, Colombia, Honduras, Costa Rica, Panama	B I
Pristidactylus	Anoles	10	Argentina and Chile	Considered members of the family Leiosauridae rather than the Polychrotidae, and thus belong to a different group to Anolis, Norops and Polychrus.
Sauromalus	Chuckwallas	6	USA and Mexico	Rather chunky herbivorous lizards that live in hot arid areas where they dwell among rocks. They make good captives given the right caging and temperatures.
Sceloporus	Swifts, Spiny Lizards	77	Mainly Mexico, also USA, El Salvador, Guatemala, Belize, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama; poss. S Canada (1 species)	Kept mainly by US keepers and less frequently seen in the UK, these are fast lizards and need to be housed accordingly. Most are fairly hardy but their needs vary according to their place of origin, which should be correctly established.
Stenocercus	Whorltail Iguanas	53	Mainly Colombia, Ecuador and Peru, also Bolivia, Uruguay, Argentina, Brazil
Tropidurus	Lava Lizards	27
Uma	Fringe-Toed Lizards	5	USA and Mexico
Uracentron	Thornytail Iguanas	2	N South America
Uranoscodon	Diving Lizard	1	N Brazil, Guyana, Surinam, French Guiana, E Venezuela, E Colombia, NE Peru, Bolivia
Urosaurus	Tree, Brush and Small-Scaled Lizards	10	Mexico, also USA	Small tree-dwellingspecies.
Urostrophus	Steppe Iguanas	2	Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil
Uta	Side-Blotched Lizards	9	Mexico, also USA

Bibliography - Iguanids

Green Iguanas and other Iguanids, Dr Hubert Bosch and Heiko Werning, TFH 1996 (originally published in German, 1991, as Leguane). See Iguanid page for recommendation of this book.

The following has not been read by the writer, but would appear to be of interest:

Iguanas: Biology and Conservation, A C Alberts, University of California Press 2004, 372pp.

Index of Iguanid-related articles from herpetological magazines.

Links

International Iguana Foundation is a non-profit organisation working for conservation and the raising of public awareness. It appears to deal mainly with Iguana and Cyclura species.

DGHT-AG Iguana - the German herp society DGHT's working group on iguanids. The group produces a regular publication (German language for the most part but also with some English language articles).