 Genus "Oplurus" has large segmented spiny scales, and no dorsal crest along the spine.A study of mitochondrial DNA sequences has dated the split between Opluridae and Iguanidae (within which Opluridae are sometimes classified as the subfamily Oplurinae) at about 165 million years ago, during the Middle Jurassic.The study supported the monophyly of the expanded Iguanidae, and put Oplurinae in the basal position.