Trogonophidae
Template:Short description Template:Automatic taxobox
Trogonophidae (Palearctic worm lizards or desert ringed lizards) is a small family of amphisbaenians, containing six species in four genera.
Geographic range
Trogonophids are found in North Africa, the Horn of Africa, the Arabian Peninsula, and western Iran.[1]
Description
Trogonophids are limbless, carnivorous, lizard-like reptiles highly modified for burrowing. They construct their tunnels with an oscillating motion that forces soil into the walls. Unlike other amphisbaenians, their teeth are fused to their jaws, rather than lying in a groove.[1]
Genera
The following four genera are recognized as being valid.[2]
- Agamodon W. Peters, 1882Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". (three species)
- Diplometopon Nikolskii, 1907Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". (monotypic)
- Pachycalamus Günther, 1881Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". (monotypic)
- Trogonophis Kaup, 1830Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". (monotypic)
The following fossil taxa are also known:[3][4]
- Palaeoblanus Schleich, 1988
- Terastiodontosaurus Georgalis et al, 2024
- Todrasaurus Augé & Rage, 2006
Terastiodontosaurus from the Early or Middle Eocene of Tunisia is the largest known worm lizard to have ever existed, with an estimated total length of nearly Script error: No such module "convert"..[5] Todrasaurus from the Late Paleocene of Morocco is the earliest known species.[4]
References
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Further reading
- Goin CJ, Goin OB, Zug GR (1978). Introduction to Herpetology, Third Edition. San Francisco: W.H. Freeman and Company. xi + 378 pp. Template:ISBN. ("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