Lizards, Snakes, Tuataras

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Agkistrodon piscivorus
© 2005 George E. Phillips, Mississippi Museum of Natural Science

Peltosaurus granulosus
© 2008 Raymond M. Alf Museum of Paleontology

Teidae
© 2008 Royal Tyrrell Museum

What are Lizards, Snakes, Tuataras? Snakes are limbless reptiles with a large number of extremely flexible vertebrae. Most lizards have four legs and a tail; they also have external ear openings and moveable eyelids, which snakes lack. Both snakes and lizards have a jaw with three movable joints, allowing them to eat prey that may be larger than they are. Modern lizards include such diverse forms as geckos, iguanas, chameleons, skinks, and even the limbless amphisbaenians, which are highly modified for their burrowing mode of life. The tuataras are lizard-like animals found today only on islands near New Zealand. This group also includes some of the extinct relatives of these living members.

First known fossil occurrence: Triassic.

Last known fossil occurrence: Quaternary. This group has living relatives.

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