There are some remnants of limbs in one or two of the older evolutionary species of snake such as the boid family (pythons and boa constrictors). This distinguishes them from species such as the slow worm, which is actually a lizard with vestigial limbs. Instead it has a coelomic, or common, body cavity.Īll true snakes have no limbs. Like the bird, the snake has no diaphragm, so no separate thorax and abdomen. Scincomorpha (skinks, whiptail lizards and European Lacertid lizards)Ĭontains the order Crocodylia which contains the following familiesĪlligatoridae (the alligators and caimans) Suborder Scleroglossa which itself is then split into the following infraordersĪnguimorpha (Monitor lizards, Heloderma lizards, slow worms etc.) Suborder Iguania (containing the Agamids, Iguanids, Chameleons and New world lizards) More recently the order Squamata has been divided into the: Suborder Serpentes (i.e., the snakes) suborder Lacertilia (i.e., the lizards) suborder Amphisbaenia (the worm-lizards)

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