Lizard is the common name used for all reptiles in the order Squamata that are not snakes and encompasses over 7 000 species, found on all continents (except Antarctica) and most oceanic islands. Lizards range in size from chameleons and geckos a few centimeters long to the massive, 3-meter-long Komodo dragon. Thus, it is a paraphyletic group – meaning all ‘lizards’ originate from a single common ancestor, but the group does not include all the descendants from this ancestor – as some lizards are more closely related to snakes than they are to other lizards.
