Night lizards (
family Xantusiidae) are a group of small, almost all
viviparous (live-bearing, except
Cricosaura)
scincomorph lizards, averaging from less than 4 cm to over 12 cm snout-vent length. The family has only three living
genera, with approximately 34 living
species. The genera are divided by geographic range:
Xantusia in southwestern
North America and
Baja California,
Cricosaura in
Cuba, and
Lepidophyma, the most populous night lizard genus, in
Central America. Three fossil genera are also known:
Catactegenys,
Palepidophyma,
Palaeoxantusia.
