''Bipes'' is a
genus of
amphisbaenians found only in
Mexico, the sole living member of the
family Bipedidae.
Commonly known as ''ajolotes'', they are
carnivorous
A carnivore , or meat-eater (Latin, ''caro'', genitive ''carnis'', meaning meat or "flesh" and ''vorare'' meaning "to devour"), is an animal or plant whose food and energy requirements derive from animal tissues (mainly muscle, fat and other sof ...
,
burrowing reptiles, but unlike other
species of amphisbaenians, they possess two stubby forelimbs placed far forward on the body. They also retain an almost complete pectoral girdle.
The shovel-like limbs are used to scrape away
soil while burrowing, in a manner similar to a
mole.
Evidence for their occurrence in the United States is reviewed by Somma (1993).
References
Further reading
*
Latreille PA (1801). ''In'':
Sonnini CS, Latreiile PA (1801). ''Histoire naturelle des reptiles, avec figures desinées d'après nature; Tome II. Premiere partie. Quadrupèdes et bipèdes ovipares''. Paris: Crapalet. 332 pp. (''Bipes'', pp. 90–96.)
*
Taylor EH (1951). "Concerning Oligocene Amphisbaenid Reptiles". ''University of Kansas Science Bulletin'' 34 (9): 521–579. (Bipedidae, p. 522.)
*Somma, Louis A. (1993). "Do Worm Lizards Occur in Nebraska?
''Nebraska Herpetological Newsletter'' 12 (2): 1–10
External links
* https://web.archive.org/web/20090514074919/http://www.jcvi.org/reptiles/families/bipedidae.php
Bipes (lizard)
Lizard genera
Endemic reptiles of Mexico
Taxa named by Pierre André Latreille
{{lizard-stub