Belongs within: Lepidosauria.
Contains: Anguidae, Amphisbaenia, Serpentes, Varanidae.
The Anguimorpha are a clade of lizards including the glass lizards, monitors, snakes and related taxa. As shown below, phylogenetic analysis of the squamates by Longrich et al. (2012b) also included the Amphisbaenia within this clade but this is almost certainly an artefact of the analysis drawing legless taxa together. Supporting characters of the Anguimorpha include the ability to retract the foretongue. Members include the beaded lizards Heloderma, strikingly coloured venomous lizards from southern North America.
Synapomorphies (from Rieppel 1988): Foretongue retractible within hindtongue at a transverse zone of invagination; inferior labial glands differentiated; type 2 fundic glands present; genital tubercle lateral or ventral to sinus genitalis.
<==Anguimorpha [Anguinomorpha, Anguoidea, Varanoidea] | i. s.: CarolinidaeB93 | |--Carusia intermedia (Borsuk-Bialynicka 1985)B93 | `--Shinisauroides latipalatum Borsuk-Bialynicka 1985B93 | Dorsetisaurus [Dorsetisauridae]B93 | |--D. hebetidens Hoffstetter 1967B93 | `--D. purbeckensis Hoffstetter 1967 [incl. Introrsisaurus pollicidens Seiffert 1973]B93 |--XenosauridaeLBG12b | |--XenosaurusLBG12b | | |--X. grandisLBG12b | | `--X. platycepsLBG12b | |--RestesLBG12b | `--Exostinus Cope 1873SH96 | |--*E. serratus Cope 1873SH96 | `--E. lancensis Gilmore 1928B93 `--+--AnguidaeLBG12b `--+--+--Sineoamphisbaena Wu, Brinkman et al. 1993LBG12b, D07 | | `--S. hexatubularisD07 | `--+--Anniella [Anniellidae]LBG12b | | `--A. pulchraLBG12b | `--+--+--Cryptolacerta Müller, Hipsley et al. 2011MH11 | | | `--*C. hassiaca Müller, Hipsley et al. 2011MH11 | | `--AmphisbaeniaLBG12b | `--OphidiaLBG12b | | i. s.: Rottophis atavus (von Meyer 1860)S05 | | CheilophisLBG12b | | SanjuanophisLBG12b | |--+--SerpentesLBG12a | | `--Najash Apesteguía & Zaher 2006LBG12a, AZ06 | | `--*N. rionegrina Apesteguía & Zaher 2006AZ06 | `--Coniophis Marsh 1892 [Coniophidae]LBG12a | |--C. carinatus McGrew et al. 1959LBG12a | |--C. cosgriffi Armstrong-Ziegler 1978LBG12a | |--C. dabiebus Rage & Werner 1999LBG12a | |--C. platycarinatus McGrew et al. 1959LBG12a | `--C. precedens Marsh 1892LBG12a `--+--ShinisaurusLBG12b [ShinisauridaeMH11] | `--S. crocodilurusLBG12b `--PlatynotaLBG12b | i. s.: LabrodioctesLBG12b | Provaranosaurus acutusLBG12b | Primaderma Nydam 2000AS09, D07 | `--P. nessoviD07 |--Litakis gilmorei Estes 1964LBG12b, B93 |--Colpodontosaurus cracensLBG12b `--+--Cemeterius Longrich, Bhullar & Gauthier 2012LBG12b | `--*C. monstrosus Longrich, Bhullar & Gauthier 2012LBG12b `--+--Palaeosaniwa canadensisLBG12b |--Paraderma bogerti Estes 1964LBG12b, B93 |--NecrosauridaeG88 | |--Parasaniwa wyomingensisLBG12b | |--Parviderma inexacta Borsuk-Bialynicka 1984B93 | `--Necrosaurus eucarinatus (Kuhn 1940)B93 |--Gobiderma pulchrumLBG12b `--+--EstesiaLBG12b `--+--Aiolosaurus oriensLBG12b `--+--HelodermatidaeMH11 | |--EurhelodermaSH96 | |--Lowesaurus Pregill, Gauthier & Greene 1986SH96 | | `--*L. matthewi (Gilmore 1928) [=Heloderma matthewi]SH96 | `--HelodermaLBG12b | |--H. horridumLBG12a | `--H. suspectumMH11 `--+--+--Saniwa Leidy 1870LBG12b, SH96 | | |--*S. ensidens Leidy 1870SH96 | | `--S. feistiMH11 | `--VaranidaeLBG12b `--Lanthanotus [Lanthanotidae]LBG12b `--L. borneensisLBG12a
*Type species of generic name indicated
References
[AS09] Alfaro, M. E., F. Santini, C. Brock, H. Alamillo, A. Dornburg, D. L. Rabosky, G. Carnevale & L. J. Harmon. 2009. Nine exceptional radiations plus high turnover explain species diversity in jawed vertebrates. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA 106 (32): 13410–13414.
[AZ06] Apesteguía, S. & H. Zaher. 2006. A Cretaceous terrestrial snake with robust hindlimbs and a sacrum. Nature 440: 1037–1040.
[B93] Benton, M. J. 1993. Reptilia. In: Benton, M. J. (ed.) The Fossil Record 2 pp. 681–715. Chapman & Hall: London.
[D07] Dixon, D. 2007. The Complete Illustrated Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs & Prehistoric Creatures. Hermes House: London.
[G88] Gray, J. 1988. Evolution of the freshwater ecosystem: the fossil record. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 62: 1–214.
[LBG12a] Longrich, N. R., B.-A. S. Bhullar & J. A. Gauthier. 2012. A transitional snake from the Late Cretaceous period of North America. Nature 488: 205–208.
[LBG12b] Longrich, N. R., B.-A. S. Bhullar & J. A. Gauthier. 2012b. Mass extinction of lizards and snakes at the Cretaceous–Paleogene boundary. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA 109 (52): 21396–21401.
[MH11] Müller, J., C. A. Hipsley, J. J. Head, N. Kardjilov, A. Hilger, M. Wuttke & R. R. Reisz. 2011. Eocene lizard from Germany reveals amphisbaenian origins. Nature 473: 364–367.
[S05] Scanlon, J. D. 2005. Cranial morphology of the Plio-Pleistocene giant madtsoiid snake Wonambi naracoortensis. Acta Palaeontologica Polonica 50: 139–180.
[SH96] Sullivan, R. M., & J. A. Holman. 1996. Squamata. In: Prothero, D. R., & R. J. Emry (eds) The Terrestrial Eocene–Oligocene Transition in North America pp. 354–372. Cambridge University Press.