Polychrotidae ( Fitzinger, 1843 )

Conrad, J. L., 2008, Phylogeny And Systematics Of Squamata (Reptilia) Based On Morphology, Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 2008 (310), pp. 1-182 : 75-81

Polychrotidae ( Fitzinger, 1843)

(figs. 54A, 55A, 56A)

DIAGNOSIS: Seven unambiguous synapomorphies support polychrotid monophyly in this analysis. These are: 26(0) absence of strong medial processes of the maxilla posterior to the premaxillary nasal process, 252(3) caudal autotomy planes located anterior to the transverse processes (fig. 45D), 258(1) one or more pair(s) of postxiphisternal inscriptional ribs confluent at midline, 274(0) multiple xiphisternal branchings, 316(1) presence of peglike filamentous tongue papillae, 325(1) endolymphatic sacs extending into the nuchal musculature via the space between the supraoccipital and parietal, and 327(1) divid- ed hemipeneal sulcus.

COMMENTS: Recent molecular studies have suggested the non-monophyly/non-ho-

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entire tree at once; portions of the tree are shown individually in Figures 54 and 55. Note the presence of a clade containing cordyloids, lacertoids, and scincoids, to the exclusion of all other squamates. Serpentes (snakes) are shown here within Scincoidea (see also figs. 54C, 55C, and 56C). This figure also illustrates that anguimorphs are sampled most heavily within this analysis.

Fig. 54.

lophyly of Polychrotidae ( Frost et al., 2001; Schulte et al., 2003), but morphological data continue to show support for polychrotid monophyly ( Frost and Etheridge, 1989; Schulte et al., 2003; Conrad, 2005a; Conrad and Norell, 2007a; Conrad et al., 2007). These issues are discussed more fully by Continued.

Schulte et al. (2003) and Conrad et al. (2007). Despite the presence of numerous unambiguous morphological synapomorphies supporting this clade here, I follow the relatively prudent approach exemplified by Schulte et al. (2003) and refrain from defining Polychrotidae . The name is used here in the same

Fig. 54. Continued. Fig. 54. Continued. Fig. 54. Continued.

Fig. 54.

sense as Conrad et al. (2007); all descendants of the last common ancestor of the polychrotids identified by Frost and Etheridge (1989).