Amphisbaena alba

Amphisbaena alba
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Family: Amphisbaenidae
Genus: Amphisbaena
Species:
A. alba
Binomial name
Amphisbaena alba
Range of A. alba (in red) in South America

Amphisbaena alba, also known as the red worm lizard[1] or less commonly as the white or white-bellied worm lizard, is a species of amphisbaenian in the reptilian order Squamata. Despite the large geographic range that this species covers, little is known about its ecology due to its secretive habits.[2] A. alba has a diverse diet ranging from plant material to small vertebrates[2] (such as lizards and their eggs, snakes, mice, and other rodents).[3][4] Numerically, beetles, ants, and spiders compose the majority of their diet; however, ants, insect larvae, beetles, cockroaches, hemipterans, mole crickets, crickets, grasshoppers, termites, spiders, scorpions, pseudoscorpions, and annelids are ingested to satisfy a larger volume.[2][3][5] The females are somewhat larger than the males, and can reach over 80 cm, which is quite large for an amphisbaenian. They are known to bury themselves in leafcutter ant nests and hide in the ants' garbage dump areas to avoid irritating the ants into attacking, and to bury themselves to avoid predation in general.[6]

  1. ^ a b Ibáñez, R.; Jaramillo, C.; Cacciali, P.; Carreira, S.; Avila-Pires, T.C.S.; Aparicio, J.; Gonzales, L.; Perez, P.; Schargel, W.; Rivas, G.; Murphy, J. (2019). "Amphisbaena alba". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2019: e.T176224A1436233. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-3.RLTS.T176224A1436233.en. Retrieved 20 November 2021.
  2. ^ a b c Guarino R. Colli & Dario S. Zamboni (1999). "Ecology of the worm-lizard Amphisbaena alba in the Cerrado of central Brazil". Copeia. 1999 (3): 733–742. doi:10.2307/1447606. JSTOR 1447606.
  3. ^ a b "Amphisbaena alba (White Worm Lizard)" (PDF). Sta.uwi.edu. Retrieved 9 April 2022.
  4. ^ "White Worm-Lizard (Amphisbaena alba)".
  5. ^ "White Worm-Lizard (Amphisbaena alba)".
  6. ^ Vieira, Jose (2021). Arteaga, Alejandro (ed.). "White Worm-Lizard (Amphisbaena alba)". Reptiles of Ecuador: Life in the middle of the world. Tropical Herping. doi:10.47051/sjxo6764. S2CID 240380304.