Diploglossidae

Diploglossidae is a family of anguimorph lizards native to the Americas, commonly called galliwasps except for the legless genus Ophiodes. The family contains 16 genera across three subfamilies and more than 50 species; most genera are endemic to Hispaniola, with the siderolamprines and a single celestine genus radiating through Central America, the diploglossines through South America, and both the celestines and diploglossines spreading through the Caribbean. Most galliwasps are larger lizards with normally proportioned, complete limbs and bright coloration, superficially resembling skinks, and they occupy terrestrial habitats. The family was formerly treated as a subfamily of Anguidae, but genetic evidence showed its members are less closely related to other Anguidae than the family Anniellidae is, so it is now recognized as its own distinct family.