Trogonophidae
| Trogonophids Temporal range: | |
|---|---|
| |
| Trogonophis wiegmanni | |
Scientific classification 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Reptilia |
| Order: | Squamata |
| Clade: | Amphisbaenia |
| Family: | Trogonophidae Gray, 1865 |
| Genera | |
|
Four, see text. | |
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, 1882 (three species)
- Diplometopon Nikolskii, 1907 (monotypic)
- Pachycalamus Günther, 1881 (monotypic)
- Trogonophis Kaup, 1830 (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 90 centimetres (35 in).[5] Todrasaurus from the Late Paleocene of Morocco is the earliest known species.[4]
References
- ^ a b Gans C (1998). Cogger HG; Zweifel RG (eds.). Encyclopedia of Reptiles and Amphibians. San Diego: Academic Press. pp. 216–217. ISBN 0-12-178560-2.
- ^ "Trogonophidae". The Reptile Database.
- ^ "PBDB Taxon". paleobiodb.org. Retrieved 2024-11-23.
- ^ a b Georgalis, Georgios L; Smith, Krister T; Marivaux, Laurent; Herrel, Anthony; Essid, El Mabrouk; Khayati Ammar, Hayet; Marzougui, Wissem; Temani, Rim; Tabuce, Rodolphe (2024-11-01). "The world's largest worm lizard: a new giant trogonophid (Squamata: Amphisbaenia) with extreme dental adaptations from the Eocene of Chambi, Tunisia". Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society. 202 (3): zlae133. doi:10.1093/zoolinnean/zlae133. ISSN 0024-4082.
- ^ Lazaro, Enrico de (2024-11-22). "World's Largest Worm Lizard Lived 47 Million Years Ago | Sci.News". Sci.News: Breaking Science News. Retrieved 2024-11-23.
Further reading
- Goin CJ, Goin OB, Zug GR (1978). Introduction to Herpetology, Third Edition. San Francisco: W.H. Freeman and Company. xi + 378 pp. ISBN 0-7167-0020-4. ("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