Lacertilia - Gekkota

Question 1

Dibamidae

Answer 1

Blind Skinks
Lacks forelimbs
Flap-like hindlimbs
Short tail with fracture planes at each vertebrae
Lacks bifurcated tongue
Subterranean
Insectivorous and oviparous
Most basal squamates

Question 2

Pygopodidae

Answer 2

Snake-like
Reduced limbs
Diurnal
2 soft-shelled eggs

Question 3

Carphodactylidae

Answer 3

Some terrestrial burrow-dwellers
Some arboreal and cryptic
Small clutches of soft-shelled eggs

Question 4

Diplodactylidae

Answer 4

Largest gecko (extinct)
Some viviparous

Question 5

Eublepharidae

Answer 5

No adhesive lamellae or spectacle cover
Most terrestrial, some arboreal
Lay 2 soft-shelled eggs

Question 6

Gekkonidae

Answer 6

Very large family
Nocturnal
Small clutches of hard-shelled eggs
Adhesive lamellae on toes
Vocalization
Relationships unclear due to rapid evolution

Question 7

Phyllodactylidae

Answer 7

Nocturnal
Lay single hard-shelled egg
Morphologically diverse

Question 8

Sphaerodactylidae

Answer 8

Smallest amniote
Diurnal or nocturnal
Lay single hard-shelled egg
Some lack adhesive lamellae for sand burrowing
Has most speciose gecko genus
Monophyletic
Related to Pristurus