= Lacertoidea
{c}
<Lacertoidea> is a branch of <Squamata> containing <Lacertidae>, <Teiidae>, <Gymnophthalmidae> and <amphisbaenians>. It groups lineages by common ancestry, despite striking differences in their visible bodies. In particular, a burrowing, nearly limbless <amphisbaenian> can be more closely related to a normally limbed member of <Lacertidae> than superficial resemblance to a <snake> suggests.<Integrated Analyses Resolve Conflicts over Squamate Reptile Phylogeny and Reveal Unexpected Placements for Fossil Taxa by Tod W. Reeder and others>[Results, combined-data likelihood analysis and definition of Lacertoidea]{ref}
This grouping is a useful test of <convergent evolution>. Imagine recording only whether an animal has external legs: many otherwise unrelated burrowing forms would receive the same score. Recording hundreds of anatomical characters and comparing many <genes> supplies additional, partly independent evidence. The 2015 integrated analysis used 691 morphological characters and 46 <genes>, and included <fossils> as well as living <species>. Its combined analyses recovered <Lacertoidea>, while some deeper relationships depended on uncertain placements of <fossil> taxa.<Integrated Analyses Resolve Conflicts over Squamate Reptile Phylogeny and Reveal Unexpected Placements for Fossil Taxa by Tod W. Reeder and others>[Abstract, Results and Figure1; effects of rogue fossil taxa]{ref}
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