Agamidae

(vertebrate zoology) A family of Old World lizards in the suborder Sauria that have acrodont dentition.

(Agamidae)

Class: Reptilia

Order: Squamata

Suborder: Sauria

Family: Agamidae

Thumbnail description
Small to large lizards

Size
1.6–13.8 in (40–350 mm) in snout-vent length

Number of genera, species
52 genera; about 420 species

Habitat
Versatile

Conservation status
Endangered: 2 species; Vulnerable: 1 species; Data Deficient: 2 species

Distribution
Europe, Africa, Asia, and Australia

Evolution and systematics

Agamids are derived descendents of ancestors of New World Iguanidae. They are Old World ecological counterparts of iguanids, with numerous highly convergent ecological equivalents, such as Phrynosoma and Moloch, Hydrosaurus and Basiliscus, Ctenosaura and Uromastyx, Pogona and Agama, and Corytophanes and Acanthosaura. A unique shared derived feature that ties Agamidae to Chamaeleonidae (chameleons are derived from within agamids) is acrodont dentition, in which teeth are fused to the top of the jawbones and are not replaced after they are formed. As a lizard grows, new teeth are added posteriorly. Agamids also have caniform (sometimes fanglike) pleurodont teeth set in sockets anteriorly, which are replaced continuously. Two subfamilies are recognized:

Resources

Cogger, H. G. Reptiles and Amphibians of Australia. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1992.

Daniel, J. C. The Book of Indian Reptiles. Bombay, India: Bombay Natural History Society, Oxford University Press, 1983.

Estes, R. "The Fossil Record and Early Distribution of Lizards." In Advances in Herpetology and Evolutionary Biology: Essays in Honor of Ernest E. Williams, edited by A. G. J. Rhodin and K. Miyata. Cambridge, MA: Museum of Comparative Zoology (Harvard University), 1983.

Pianka, E. R. Ecology and Natural History of Desert Lizards: Analyses of the Ecological Niche and Community Structure. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1986.

Pianka, E. R., and L. J. Vitt. Lizards: Windows to the Evolution of Diversity. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2003.

Saville-Kent, W. The Naturalist in Australia. London, 1897.

Schleich, H. Hermann, Werner Kästle, and Klaus Kabisch. Amphibians and Reptiles of North Africa. Koenigstein, Germany: Koeltz Scientific Books, 1996.

Schmidt, K. P., and R. F. Inger. Living Reptiles of the World. Garden City, NY: Hanover House, 1957.

Witten, G. J. "Family Agamidae." In Fauna of Australia. Vol. 2A, Amphibia and Reptilia, edited by C. J. Gasby, C. J. Ross, and P. L. Beesly. Canberra: Australian Biological and Environmental Survey, 1993.

Zug, George R., Laurie J. Vitt, and Janalee P. Caldwell. Herpetology: An Introductory Biology of Amphibians and Reptiles. 2nd edition. San Diego: Academic Press, 2001.

Bentley, P. J., and W. F. Blumer. "Uptake of Water by the Lizard Moloch horridus." Nature 194 (1962): 699–700.

Bursey, C. R., S. R. Goldberg, and D. N. Woolery. "Oochoristica piankai sp. n. (Cestoda: Linstowiidae) and Other Helminths of Moloch horridus (Sauria: Agamidae) from Australia." Journal of the Helminthological Society of Washington 63, no. 2 (1966): 215–221.

Huey, R. B., and E. R. Pianka. "Seasonal Variation in Thermoregulatory Behavior and Body Temperature of Diurnal Kalahari Lizards." Ecology 58 (1977): 1066–1075. (With an appendix by J. A. Hoffman.)

Pianka, E. R. "Australia's Thorny Devil." Reptiles 5, no. 11 (1997): 14–23. ——. "Comparative Ecology of Two Lizards." Copeia (1971): 129–138. ——. "Ecology of the Agamid Lizard Amphibolurus isolepis in Western Australia." Copeia (1971): 527–536.

Pianka, E. R., and H. D. Pianka. "The Ecology of Moloch horridus (Lacertilia: Agamidae) in Western Australia." Copeia (1970): 90–103.

Pianka, G. A., E. R. Pianka, and G. G. Thompson. "Egg Laying by Thorny Devils (Moloch horridus) Under Natural Conditions in the Great Victoria Desert." Journal of the Royal Society of Western Australia 79 (1998): 195–197.

Sporn, C. C. "Additional Observations on the Life History of the Mountain Devil, Moloch horridus, in Captivity." Western Australian Naturalist 9 (1965): 157–159. ——. "The Breeding of the Mountain Devil in Captivity." Western Australian Naturalist 5 (1955): 1–5. ——. "Further Observations on the Mountain Devil in Captivity." Western Australian Naturalist 6 (1958): 136–137.

[Article by: Eric R. Pianka, PhD]

The noun has one meaning:

Meaning #1: an Old World reptile family of Sauria
  Synonym: family Agamidae

Agamids
Mwanza Flat-Headed Rock Agama (Agama mwanzae), male, Serengeti, Tanzania
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Suborder:	Iguania
Family:	Agamidae
Subfamilies
6, see text

Fan-throated Lizard Sitana ponticeriana from Agaminae

Agamids, lizards of the family Agamidae, include more than 300 species in Africa, Asia, Australia, and a few in Southern Europe. They are commonly called dragons or dragon lizards. Phylogenetically they may be sister to the Iguanidae, and have a similar appearance. Agamids usually have well-developed, strong legs. Their tails cannot be shed and regenerated like those of geckoes, though a certain amount of regeneration is observed in some.^[1][2] Many agamid species are capable of limited change of their colours to regulate their body temperature.^[3] In some species, males are more brightly coloured than females^[4] and colours play a part in signaling and reproductive behaviours.^[5] Although agamids generally inhabit warm environments, ranging from hot deserts to tropical rainforests, at least one species, the Mountain Dragon, is found in cooler regions.

One of the key distinguishing features of the agamids is their teeth, which are borne on the outer rim of the mouth (acrodont), rather than on the inner side of the jaws (pleurodont). This feature is shared with the chameleons, but is otherwise unusual among lizards. Agamid lizards are generally diurnal, with good vision, and include a number of arboreal species, in addition to ground and rock-dwellers. They generally feed on insects and other arthropods (such as spiders), although some larger species may include small reptiles or mammals, nestling birds, flowers or other vegetable matter in their diets.^[6] The great majority of agamid species are oviparous.^[7]

Contents 1 Systematics 2 Subfamilies[11] 3 References 4 External links

Systematics

There have been very few studies of the Agamidae with the first comprehensive assessment by Moody (1980) followed by a more inclusive assessment by Frost and Etheridge (1989). Subsequent studies were based on mitochondrial DNA loci^[8][9][10] (using allozymes), and sampling across the Agamidae. Few other studies focused on clades within the family, but the Agamidae have not been as well investigated as the Iguanidae.

Subfamilies^[11]

Among the Agamidae, six clades or lineages are generally recognized^{[citation needed]}:

• Agaminae (African)
• Amphibolurinae (Australian and New Guinean)
• Draconinae (South and Southeast Asian)
• Hydrosaurinae (Hydrosaurus)
• Leiolepidinae (Leiolepis)
• Uromasticinae (Saara and Uromastyx)

The chameleons of the sister family Chamaeleonidae are sometimes discussed^{[citation needed]} as subfamily Chamaeleoninae and subfamily Agaminae (referring to Agamidae, not the Agaminae mentioned above).

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Agamidae

Wikispecies has information related to: Agamidae

1. ^ Thompson, M.B. (1993). "Estimate of the population structure of the estern water dragon, Physignathus lesueurii (Reptilia : Agamidae), along riverside habitat". Wildlife Research 20(5) 613 - 619 (Australia: CSIRO Publishing) 20 (5): 613-619. doi:10.1071/WR9930613. http://www.publish.csiro.au/paper/WR9930613.htm. Retrieved 2009-11-04. 
2. ^ Ananjeva, Natalia B.; Bryan L. Stuart (2001). "The Agamid lizard Ptyctolaemus phuwtilmensis Manthey and Nabhitabhata, 1991 from Thailand and Laos represents a new genus". Russian Journal of Herpetology (Folium Publishing Company) 8 (3): 165-170. http://www.suethedinosaur.org/research_collections/zoology/pdf/Ananjeva_Stuart_2001v2.pdf. Retrieved 2009-11-04. 
3. ^ de Velasco, Jesus Barraza; Glenn J. Tattersall (September, 2008). "The influence of hypoxia on the thermal sensitivity of skin colouration in the bearded dragon, Pogona vitticeps". Journal of Comparative Physiology B: Biochemical, Systemic, and Environmental Physiology (Springer Berlin / Heidelberg) 178 (7): 867-875. doi:10.1007/s00360-008-0274-8. http://www.springerlink.com/content/a1q636l1641k2m51/. Retrieved 2009-11-04. 
4. ^ Cuervo, J.J.; R. Shine (10 Jul 2007). "Hues of a dragon's belly: morphological correlates of ventral coloration in water dragons". Journal of Zoology (The Zoological Society of London) 273 (3): 298-304. http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/journal/118535566/abstract. Retrieved 2009-11-04. 
5. ^ LeBas, Natasha R.; N. Justin Marshall (2000). "The role of colour in signaling and male choice in the agamid lizard Ctenophorus ornatus". Proc. R. Soc. Lond. B (The Royal Society) 267: 445-452. http://www.alternativetactics.org/lebas_files/LeBas%20&%20Marshall%20Proc%20B%202000.pdf. Retrieved 2009-11-04. 
6. ^ Cogger, H.G. (1994). Reptiles and Amphibians of Australia. New South Wales: Reed. pp. 298. ISBN 0-7301-0088-X. 
7. ^ Bauer, Aaron M. (1998). Cogger, H.G. & Zweifel, R.G.. ed. Encyclopedia of Reptiles and Amphibians. San Diego: Academic Press. pp. 134–136. ISBN 0-12-178560-2. 
8. ^ Macey et al. (2000)
9. ^ Honda et al. (2000)
10. ^ Joger (1991)
11. ^ Agamidae, UniProt Taxonomy

External links

• www.reptile-database.org Agamidae, The Reptiles Database

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