Amphisbaenidae

Amphisbaenidae
	Amphisbaena alba
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Clade:	Amphisbaenia
Family:	Amphisbaenidae; Gray, 1865
Genera
	17, see text

The Amphisbaenidae, common name worm lizards, are a family of amphisbaenians, a group of limbless vertebrates.

Geographic range

Amphisbaenids occur in South America, some Caribbean islands, and in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Taxonomy

One deep-branching and somewhat aberrant genus, Blanus, is native to Europe, and may represent a distinct family.^[1]

Description

Members of the family are limbless, burrowing, lizards with carnivorous diets. As in other amphisbaenians, the body bears rings of scales, which gives amphisbaenids a worm-like appearance. The heads are massively constructed and used for burrowing, with powerful jaws and large, recurved teeth used for seizing prey. Some species have spade-like heads, while others have a narrow keel on their heads, and still others have a rounded skull.^[1] The eyes are highly reduced, while the ear bone, or stapes in the middle ear, is large and massive. Together with another bone, the extracollumella, the stapes detects vibrations caused by prey items, allowing amphisbaenids to hunt for invertebrates underground. In this respect there apparently is evolution convergent to the burrowing mammalian family Chrysochloridae, in which the malleus in the middle ear is greatly enlarged.^[2]^[3]

Genera

Over 120 species are in the family, grouped into 17 genera:

Amphisbaena Linnaeus, 1758
Ancylocranium Scortecci, 1930
Anops Bell, 1833
Aulura Barbour, 1914
Baikia Gray, 1865
Bronia Wiegmann, 1828
Cercolophia Strauch, 1881
Chirindia Boulenger, 1907
Cynisca A.M.C. Duméril & Bibron, 1839
Dalophia Gray, 1865
Geocalamus Günther, 1880
Leposternon Hemprich, 1820
Loveridgea Tornier, 1899
Mesobaena Mertens, 1925
Monopeltis A. Smith, 1848
Zygaspis Cope, 1885

References

^ ^a ^b Gans, Carl (1998). Cogger, H.G.; Zweifel, R.G (eds.). Encyclopedia of Reptiles and Amphibians. San Diego: Academic Press. p. 216. ISBN 0-12-178560-2.
^ Mason, Matthew J. (2003-08-01). "Morphology of the middle ear of golden moles (Chrysochloridae)". Journal of Zoology. 260 (4): 391–403. doi:10.1017/S095283690300387X. ISSN 1469-7998.
^ Mason, Matthew J.; Narins, Peter M. (2001-01-01). "Seismic Signal Use by Fossorial Mammals". American Zoologist. 41 (5): 1171–1184. doi:10.1093/icb/41.5.1171. JSTOR 3884562.