The Iguana is the largest of the lizard families and consist of 60 genera and over 700 species. The Iguanids contain the curlytails , swifts , anoles , and iguanas as well as others. Specifically they are found from southern Canada in North America to the tip of South America and on the islands of Fiji and Madagascar. Iguanas range in type from the tree dwelling arboreal type to the terrestrial and the semi-aquatic type. They have well developed limbs, short tongues that are barely protrusible, and most have long tails, crest, and dewlaps.
Males are bright and varied in coloring.
Most lay eggs in the ground but a few who are live bearers. The desert and forest dwellers are mainly herbivores while the smaller iguanidae are insectivores or omnivores. Now they are in their own family consisting of one genera and 4 species. The basilisks are slender lizards with well developed limbs that are fairly long. They are arboreal and semi-aquatic.