Phylogenetic Systematics oflguanine Lizards 



Sauromalus 



Ctenosaura 



Cyclura 



Iguana 



Conolophus 

 Amblyrhynchus 



Pre-Ctenosaura-lguana Stock 



Opiurus 



Dipsosaurus 

 Brachylophus 



Chalarodon 



Iguanid Ancestor 



FIG. 3. "Phylogenetic relationships of the Madagascar Iguanidae and the genera of iguanine lizards," 

 after Avery and Tanner (1971:71). 



variable, size, and should not therefore be used as independent evidence for relationship. 

 Furthermore, these authors made no attempt to assess the evolutionary polarity of their 

 characters by comparison with other iguanids. 



Karyological data on iguanines have been practically useless for systematic purposes. 

 At the crude level of karyotypic analysis commonly applied to lizards, in which only 

 numbers and sizes of chromosomes and their centromeric positions are determined, 

 iguanines are conservative. All species of Conolophus, Cyclura, Ctenosaura, 

 Dipsosaurus, and Sauromalus that have been studied possess a karyotype known to be 



