''Ancylocranium'' is a
genus
Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...
of
amphisbaenians
Amphisbaenia (called amphisbaenians or worm lizards) is a group of typically legless lizards, comprising over 200 extant species. Amphisbaenians are characterized by their long bodies, the reduction or loss of the limbs, and rudimentary eyes. As ...
,
commonly known as sharp-snouted worm lizards, in the
family
Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...
Amphisbaenidae
The Amphisbaenidae (common name: worm lizards) are a Family (biology), family of amphisbaenians, a group of limbless vertebrates. There are 12 genera, containing 183 species.
Geographic range
Amphisbaenids occur in South America, some Caribbean ...
. Three
species
A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...
are placed in this genus, which is
endemic
Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...
to eastern
Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...
and the
Horn of Africa
The Horn of Africa (HoA), also known as the Somali Peninsula, is a large peninsula and geopolitical region in East Africa.Robert Stock, ''Africa South of the Sahara, Second Edition: A Geographical Interpretation'', (The Guilford Press; 2004), ...
.
Species
The following species are recognized as being valid.
[ www.reptile-database.org.]
*''
Ancylocranium barkeri''
Loveridge, 1946 – Lindi sharp-snouted worm lizard
*''
Ancylocranium ionidesi''
Loveridge, 1955 – Kilwa sharp-snouted worm lizard
*''
Ancylocranium somalicum''
( Scortecci, 1930) – Somali sharp-snouted worm lizard
''
Nota bene
( ; plural: ) is the Latin language, Latin phrase meaning ''note well''.
In manuscripts, ''nota bene'' is abbreviated in upper-case as NB and N.B., and in lower-case as n.b. and nb; the editorial usages of ''nota bene'' and ''notate bene'' fi ...
'': A
binomial authority
In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, both of which use Latin grammatical forms, altho ...
in parentheses indicates that the species was originally described in a genus other than ''Ancylocranium''.
References
Further reading
*
Gans C (2005). "Checklist and Bibliography of the Amphisbaenia of the World". ''Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History'' (289): 1–130.
*
Loveridge A (1946). "A new worm-lizard (''Ancylocranium barkeri'' ) from Tanganyika Territory". ''Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington'' 59: 73–76, Plate VIII.
*Loveridge A (1955). "On a second collection of reptiles and amphibians taken in Tanganyika Territory by C. J. P. Ionides". ''Journal of the East African Natural History Society'' 22: 168–198. (''Ancylocranium ionidesi'', new species, pp. 169, 177–179).
*
Parker HW (1942). "The Lizards of British Somaliland". ''Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoölogy at Harvard College'' 91 (1): 1–101. (''Ancylocranium'', new genus, p. 57).
*
Scortecci G (1930). "''Contributo alla conoscenza dei rettili e degli anfibi della Somalia, dell'Eritrea e dell'Abissinia'' ". ''Bollettino dei Musei di Zoologia ed Anatomia comparata della R
gia
''Gia'' is a 1998 American biographical drama television film about the life and times of one of the first supermodels, Gia Carangi. The film stars Angelina Jolie as Gia and Faye Dunaway as Wilhelmina Cooper, with Mercedes Ruehl and Elizab ...
Università di Torino''
hird Series41 (10): 1–26. (''Anops somalicus'', new species). (in Italian).
{{Taxonbar, from=Q39024
Lizard genera
Taxa named by Hampton Wildman Parker