Material and Methods

The trigeminal jaw musculature as well as the muscles of the neck and of the throat were dissected in representatives of every subgenus of anguinomorph lizards. Each subgenus was represented by at least two specimens, preferably of two different species, with the exception of varanids where the lack of material restricted the investigation to a single specimen of many subgenera. After the dissections were completed, the skulls were prepared in a commercial bleaching solution prior to examination. A number of dried skulls from a variety of museum collections were also used for comparison. A list of the specimens examined is given in Appendix I.