>>If you do not mind me asking, how many "nails" are there? I do remember one of the many squamata clades having snakes and mosasaurs together, but then with a "?" in another. What other papers would you suggest reading?
>>
>>I have also heard that some genetic data has snakes closest to Lacertiforms.... I need to find that source though...
>>-----
>>-Bradley

Yes indeed, some DNA studies find snakes closest to the Iguanians. Here is an example:

TED M. TOWNSEND,ALLAN LARSON, EDWARD LOUIS, AND J. ROBERT MACEY 2004. Molecular Phylogenetics of Squamata: The Position of Snakes, Amphisbaenians, and Dibamids, and the Root of the Squamate Tree. Syst. Biol. 53(5):735–757

These authors found that "Snakes are grouped with iguanians, lacertiforms, and anguimorphs, but are not nested within anguimorphs."

However, a more recent paper, based on highly reliable SINE data, shows that anguimorph lizards is the sister group of snakes. See fig. 4 in the link below:
Sauria SINEs: Novel Short Interspersed Retroposable Elements That Are Widespread in Reptile Genomes

[ Reply To This Message ] [ Subscribe to this Thread ] [ Hide Replies ]