Order Squamata
Infraorder Scincomorpha

Family Gymnophthalmidae (Spectacled Lizards, Microteiids)

Consulting experts: Todd A. Castoe (University of Central Florida) and Tiffany M. Doan (Vassar College, NY).

Photo: Micrablepharus maximilllian © Paula Hanna Valdujo, Brazil.

Appearance: Limb reduction has occurred multiple times in microteiids and in many of these it is accompanied by body elongation. In Bachia, the limbs are reduced to tiny flaps that are useless for locomotion, and in Calyptommatus limbs are entirely lacking. Distribution: Southern Mexico to Argentina. Habitat: from extremely arid deserts to tropical rain forests to high-altitude paramos in the Andes. Limbless gymnophthalmids are often burrowers in tropical forests (Bachia) or occupy specialized habitats such as loose sand (Calyptommatus). Most species of Neusticurus are semi-qauatic, a unique trait for the family. Size: from about 10 cm Food: mainly insects and other invertebrates Reproduction: All species oviparous. Behavior: Some secretive and burrowing species but usually active and diurnal. Some species parthenogenetic (e.g. Gymnophthalmus). Relationships: Some authors consider the family Gymnophthalmidae as a subfamily (Gymnophthalminae) of the Teiidae.

List of Genera (classification according to CASTOE et al. 2004)

Alopoglossinae PELLEGRINO et al. 2001

• Alopoglossus BOULENGER 1885
• Ptychoglossus BOULENGER 1890

Cercosaurinae GRAY 1838

Tribe Bachini CASTOE et al. 2004

• Bachia GRAY 1845

  Tribe Cercosaurini GRAY 1838

• Anadia GRAY 18445
• Cercosaura WAGLER 1830 (incl. Prionodactylus and Pantodactylus )
• Echinosaura BOULENGER 1890
• Euspondylus TSCHUDI 1845
• Macropholidus NOBLE 1921
• Neusticurus DUMÉRIL & BIBRON 1839
• Opipeuter UZZELL 1969
• Petracola DOAN & CASTOE 2005 (NEW!)
• Potamites DOAN & CASTOE 2005 (NEW!)
• Pholidobolus PETER 1862
• Placosoma TSCHUDI 1847
• Proctoporus TSCHUDI 1845
• Riama GRAY 1858 (NEW - available from December 2005)
• Riolama UZZELL 1973
• Teuchocercus FRITTS & SMITH 1969

Ecpleopinae FITZINGER 1843

• Amapasaurus CUNHA 1970
• Anotosaura AMARAL 1933
• Arthrosaura BOULENGER 1885
• Colobosauroides CUNHA & LIMA VERDE 1991
• Dryadosaura RODRIGUES, et al. 2005 (NEW!)
• Ecpleopus DUMÉRIL & BIBRON 1839
• Leposoma SPIX 1825

Gymnophthalminae MERREM 1820

Tribus Heterodactylini (fide PELLEGRINO et al. 2001)

• Acratosaura RODRIGUES et al. 2007 (NEW!)
• Alexandresaurus RODRIGUES et al. 2007 (NEW!)
• Colobodactylus AMARAL 1933
• Colobosaura BOULENGER 1887
• Heterodactylus SPIX 1825
• Iphisa GRAY 1851
• Stenolepis BOULENGER 1888 (inclusion in Heterodactylini preliminary)

Tribus Gymnophthalmini (fide PELLEGRINO et al. 2001)

• Calyptommatus RODRIGUES 1991
• Gymnophthalmus MERREM 1820
• Micrablepharus DUNN 1932
• Nothobachia RODRIGUES 1984
• Procellosaurinus RODRIGUES 1991
• Psilophthalmus RODRIGUES 1991
• Tretioscincus COPE 1862
• Vanzosaura RODRIGUES 1991

Rhachisaurinae PELLEGRINO et al. 2001

• Rhachisaurus PELLEGRINO et al. 2001

 Note: Doan (2003) synonymized Pantodactylus and Prionodactylus with Cercosaura. Argalia has been synonymized with Anadia by Oftedal (1974). Adercosaurus could not be assigned to any of the subfamilies by CASTOE et al. (2004).

PELLEGRINO et al. (2001) subdivided the Cercosaurinae into two tribes, the Ecpleopini Fitzinger, 1843 including Anotosaura, Arthrosaura Colobosauroides, Ecpleopus, Leposoma, and probably Amapasaurus, and the Cercosaurini Gray, 1838 including Bachia, Cercosaura, Neusticurus, Pantodactylus, Pholidobolus, Placosoma, Prionodactylus, Ptychoglossus, and probably Anadia, Echinosaura, Euspondylus, Macropholidus, Opipeuter, Proctoporus, Riolama, and Teuchocercus.

Click on genus to get a list of species. Use the Search form for more sophisticated searches (HELP on Search).

Phylogenetic relationships among Gymnophthalmid genera (modified after CASTOE et al. 2004)

Bayesian phylogenetic tree and posterior probabilities for clades based on a combined, four-gene data set analyzed under the CNR-SSG model. Tree is based on the combination of all post burn-in generations resulting from three independent runs of the model, for a combined total of 3 million post-burn-in generations. Compare to classification shown in list above. Note that Proctoporus and Neusticurus are paraphyletic according to this study.

Also note that Rodrigues et al. (2005) found quite a different topology by combining morphological and molecular data although their coverage of genera was significantly smaller. The tree above therefore has to be considered as preliminary.

References:

Castoe, T.A.; Doan, T.M. & Parkinson, C.L. (2004)
Data partitions and complex models in Bayesian analysis: the phylogeny of Gymnophthalmid lizards.
Syst. Biol. 53 (3): 448-469

da Cunha O R; Lima-Verde J S; Lima A C M (1991)
Novo genero e especie de lagarto do Estado do Ceara (Lacertilia: Teiidae). [Colobosauroides, Colobosaura, Anotosaura, Colobodactylus].
BOLETIM DO MUSEU PARAENSE EMILIO GOELDI SERIE ZOOLOGIA 7(2) 1991: 163-176

Doan, T. M. & Castoe, T.A. (2005)
Phylogenetic taxonomy of the Cercosaurini (Squamata: Gymnophthalmidae), with new genera for species of Neusticurus and Proctoporus.
Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, 143: 405&endash;416.

Dixon,J.R. (1973)
A systematic review of the teiid lizards, genus Bachia, with remarks on Heterodactylus and Anotosaura.
Misc. Publ. Univ. Kans. Mus. Nat. Hist. 57: 1-47

Dixon,J.R. 1974
Systematic review of the lizard genus Anotosaura (Teiidae).
Herpetologica 30: 13-18

Doan, T.M. 2003
A new phylogenetic classification for the gymnophthalmid genera Cercosaura, Pantodactylus and Prionodactylus (Reptilia: Squamata).
Zool. J. Linn. Soc. 137 (1): 101-115

Harris,D.M. (1994)
Review of the teiid lizard genus Ptychoglossus.
Herpetol. Monogr. 8: 226-275

HOOGMOED M.S. AVILA PIRES T.C.S. 1992
Studies on the species of the South American lizard genus Arthrosaura Boulenger (Reptilia: Sauria: Teiidae), with the resurrection of two species.
ZOOLOGISCHE MEDEDELINGEN (LEIDEN) 66 (16-40): 453-484.

KIZIRIAN, D. A. (1996)
A review of Ecuadorian Proctoporus (Squamata: Gymnophthalmidae) with descriptions of nine new species.
Herpetol. Monogr., New York, 10: 85-155

Montanucci,R.R. 1973
Systematics and Evolution of the Andean Lizard Genus Pholidobolus (Sauria: Teiidae).
Misc. Pub. Univ. Kansas Mus. Nat. Hist. (59): 1-52

Oftedal,O.T. 1974
A revision of the genus Anadia (Sauria, Teiidae).
Arq. Zool., Sao Paulo 25: 203-265

Pellegrino, K. C. M.; Rodrigues, M. T.; Yonenaga-Yassuda, Y.; Sites, J. W. 2001
A molecular perspective on the evolution of microteiid lizards (Squamata, Gymnophthalmidae), and a new classification for the family.
Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 74 (3): 315-338

Peters,J.A.,Donoso-Barros,R. & Vanzolini,P.E. (1986)
Catalogue of the Neotropical Squamata (Revised Edition). Part II: Lizards and Amphisbaenians
Smithsonian Institution Press (Washington D.C., London)
ISBN 0-87474-757-0

Presch, W. 1980
Evolutionary history of the South American microteiid lizards (Teiidae: Gymnophthalminae).
Copeia 1980 (1): 36-56

Pough,F. H. (Editor), Robin M. Andrews, John E. Cadle, Mart Crump, Harvey F. Pough (1997)
Herpetology.
Prentice Hall

Rodrigues, M.T. et al. (2005)
Phylogenetic relationships of a new genus and species of microteiid lizard from the Atlantic forest of north-eastern Brazil (Squamata, Gymnophthalmidae). [Dryadosaura]
Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 144 (4): 543-557

Rodrigues, M.T. et al. (2007)
A new genus of microteiid lizard from the Atlantic forests of State of Bahia, Brazil, with a new generic name for Colobosaura mentalis, and a discussion of relationships among the Heterodactylini (Squamata, Gymnophthalmidae). [Alexandresaurus]
American Museum Novitates (3565): 1-27

Uzzell,T.M. 1969
The status of the genera Ecpleopus, Arthroseps and Aspidolaemus (Sauria, Teiidae).
Postilla 135: 1-23

UZZELL,T.M. 1973
A revision of the genus Prionodactylus with a new genus for P. leucostictus and notes on the genus Euspondylus (Sauria, Teiidae).
Postilla 159: 1-67

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