Trogonophidae (Palearctic worm lizards or desert ringed lizards) is a small
family
Family (from la, familia) is a group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its members and of society. Idea ...
of
amphisbaenian
Amphisbaenia (called amphisbaenians or worm lizards) is a group of usually legless squamates, comprising over 200 extant species. Amphisbaenians are characterized by their long bodies, the reduction or loss of the limbs, and rudimentary eyes. As ...
s, containing five
species
In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...
in four
genera.
Geographic range
Trogonophids are found in
North Africa
North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in ...
, the
Horn of Africa, the
Arabian Peninsula, and western
Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
.
[
]
Description
Trogonophids are limbless, carnivorous, lizard-like reptiles highly modified for burrowing. They construct their tunnels with an oscillating motion that forces soil
Soil, also commonly referred to as earth or dirt
Dirt is an unclean matter, especially when in contact with a person's clothes, skin, or possessions. In such cases, they are said to become dirty.
Common types of dirt include:
* Debri ...
into the walls. Unlike other amphisbaenians, their teeth are fused to their jaws, rather than lying in a groove.
Genera
The following four genera are recognized as being valid.["Trogonophidae". The Reptile Database.]
*'' Agamodon'' (three species)
*'' Diplometopon'' (monotypic
In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unispe ...
)
*'' Pachycalamus'' (monotypic)
*'' Trogonophis'' (monotypic)
References
Further reading
* Goin CJ, Goin OB, Zug GR (1978). ''Introduction to Herpetology, Third Edition''. San Francisco: W.H. Freeman and Company. xi + 378 pp. . ("Trogonophidae", pp. 276–278).
* Gray JE (1865). "A Revision of the Genera and Species of Amphisbænians, with the Descriptions of some New Species now in the Collection of the British Museum". ''Proceedings of the Scientific Meetings of the Zoological Society of London'' 1865: 442–455. (Trogonophidæ, new family, p. 445).
External links
Trogonophidae
in the Reptile Database
The Reptile Database is a scientific database that collects taxonomic information on all living reptile species (i.e. no fossil species such as dinosaurs). The database focuses on species (as opposed to higher ranks such as families) and has entrie ...
Lizard families
Legless lizards
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