The Gaboon worm lizard (''Monopeltis jugularis'') is a
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), ...
of
amphisbaenia
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. A ...
n 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 ...
. The species is native to the west coast of
Central Africa
Central Africa (French language, French: ''Afrique centrale''; Spanish language, Spanish: ''África central''; Portuguese language, Portuguese: ''África Central'') is a subregion of the African continent comprising various countries accordin ...
.
Geographic range
''M. jugularis'' is found in
Cameroon
Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon, is a country in Central Africa. It shares boundaries with Nigeria to the west and north, Chad to the northeast, the Central African Republic to the east, and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the R ...
,
Equatorial Guinea
Equatorial Guinea, officially the Republic of Equatorial Guinea, is a country on the west coast of Central Africa. It has an area of . Formerly the colony of Spanish Guinea, its post-independence name refers to its location both near the Equ ...
, and
Gabon
Gabon ( ; ), officially the Gabonese Republic (), is a country on the Atlantic coast of Central Africa, on the equator, bordered by Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the north, the Republic of the Congo to the east and south, and ...
.
Habitat
The preferred natural habitat
In ecology, habitat refers to the array of resources, biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species' habitat can be seen as the physical manifestation of its ...
of ''M. jugularis'' is forest
A forest is an ecosystem characterized by a dense ecological community, community of trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, ...
.[
]
Description
The holotype
A holotype (Latin: ''holotypus'') is a single physical example (or illustration) of an organism used when the species (or lower-ranked taxon) was formally described. It is either the single such physical example (or illustration) or one of s ...
of ''M. jugularis'' has a total length of , which includes a tail long. The body has a diameter of .[ Peters W (1880).]
Reproduction
The mode of reproduction of ''M. jugularis'' is unknown.[
]
References
Further reading
* Boulenger GA (1885). ''Catalogue of the Lizards in the British Museum (Natural History). Second Edition. Volume II. ... Amphisbænidæ.'' London: Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History). (Taylor and Francis, printers). xiii + 497 pp. + Plates I–XXIV. (''Monopeltis jugularis'', p. 459).
* Gans C (2005). "Checklist and Bibliography of the Amphisbaenia of the World". ''Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History'' (289): 1–130. (''Monopeltis jugularis, p. 36).
* Peters W (1880). "''Eine Mittheilung über neue oder weniger bekannte Amphibien des Berliner Zoologischens Museums'' (Leposoma dispar, Monopeltis (Phractogonus) jugularis, Typhlops depressus, Leptocalamus trilineatus, Xenodon punctatus, Elapomorphus erythronotus, Hylomantis fallax)". ''Monatsberichte der Königlich preussischen Akademie der Wissenschaften zu Berlin'' 1880: 217–224 + one plate. ("''Monopeltis (Phractogonus) jugularis'' ", new species, pp. 219–220 + plate, figure 1, four views). (in German and Latin).
Monopeltis
Lizards of Africa
Reptiles of Cameroon
Reptiles of Equatorial Guinea
Reptiles of Gabon
Reptiles described in 1880
Taxa named by Wilhelm Peters
{{Amphisbaenidae-stub