2 genera (8 recognized species), see article The Opluridae, or Madagascan iguanas, are a family of moderately-sized lizards native to Madagascar and Grande Comore.

The other genus, Chalarodon, is easily distinguishable from Oplurus as it contains species with a dorsal crest, particularly distinct in males, and has a smoother tail covered in similarly sized scales.

[1][2] The Opluridae, along with the banded iguanas and their kin (family Iguanidae) of Fiji, are the only extant members of the Pleurodonta that are found outside of the Americas.

[3][2] A study to identify the primary foraging methods of the Oplurus genus indicated that ambush hunting was preferred due to the reptiles' low movement-per-minute (MPM) and percent-time-spent-moving (PTM) rates, especially during the very rainy and very dry seasons of the Ampijoroa Forest and Ankarafantsika.

[4] This study supported the monophyly of the expanded Iguanidae, thus placing Oplurinae in the basal position—consistent with a vicariant origin of the Madagascan iguanians, as Madagascar is believed to have separated from Africa some 140 MYA during the breakup of Gondwana.