''Amphisbaena fuliginosa'', also known as the black-and-white worm lizard, speckled worm lizard or spotted worm lizard, is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

amphisbaenia Amphisbaenia (called amphisbaenians or worm lizards) is a group of usually legless squamates, comprising over 200 extant species. Amphisbaenians are characterized by their long bodies, the reduction or loss of the limbs, and rudimentary eyes. As ...

n in the

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...

Amphisbaena The amphisbaena (, , or , plural: amphisbaenae; grc, ἀμφίσβαινα) is a mythological, ant-eating serpent with a head at each end. The creature is alternatively called the amphisbaina, amphisbene, amphisboena, amphisbona, amphista, am ...

''. The ecology of ''A. fuliginosa'' is poorly known due to its fossorial habits. However, this species can be easily distinguished from others because of its characteristic white and black mosaic pattern that covers both the dorsal and ventral side.

Geographic range

It is found in northern

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the southe ...

including the island of

Trinidad Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands of Trinidad and Tobago. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is often referred to as the southernmos ...

, and southwards to the Brazilian

Cerrado The ''Cerrado'' (, ) is a vast ecoregion of tropical savanna in eastern Brazil, particularly in the states of Goiás, Mato Grosso do Sul, Mato Grosso, Tocantins, Minas Gerais, and the Federal District. The core areas of the Cerrado biome are t ...

biome. The southernmost areas of the Brazilian Cerrado where ''A. fuliginosa'' is found are Minas Gerais and Goiás.

Description

''A. fuliginosa'' grows to a total length (body + tail) of .

Habitat

It inhabits Amazonian forest areas.

Behavior and diet

It is a burrowing

nocturnal Nocturnality is an animal behavior characterized by being active during the night and sleeping during the day. The common adjective is "nocturnal", versus diurnal meaning the opposite. Nocturnal creatures generally have highly developed sens ...

species and spends most of its time underground. ''A. fuliginosa'' will feed on any small

invertebrate Invertebrates are a paraphyletic group of animals that neither possess nor develop a vertebral column (commonly known as a ''backbone'' or ''spine''), derived from the notochord. This is a grouping including all animals apart from the chordate ...

, or

insect Insects (from Latin ') are pancrustacean hexapod invertebrates of the class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body ( head, thorax and abdomen), three pairs ...

, that it can find while burrowing. Some of those insects include beetles, ants, termites, and other arthropods (such as spiders, centipedes, millipedes, and earthworms), but they also consume species of Orthoptera, such as crickets and grasshoppers, and sometimes on small vertebrates. When it finds its prey it will use its strong jaws to catch and kill it.

Reproduction

This species is

oviparous Oviparous animals are animals that lay their eggs, with little or no other embryonic development within the mother. This is the reproductive method of most fish, amphibians, most reptiles, and all pterosaurs, dinosaurs (including birds), and ...

Human interaction

Yanomami The Yanomami, also spelled Yąnomamö or Yanomama, are a group of approximately 35,000 indigenous people who live in some 200–250 villages in the Amazon rainforest on the border between Venezuela and Brazil. Etymology The ethnonym ''Yanomami ...

mythology Amphisbaena are said to emerge from the spinal columns of warriors killed in battle, and have a supernatural connection to the underworld. When one is encountered in a

village A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to ...

it is customary to ask it "Who are you? Where do you come from?" If it responds with a high pitch cry it has good intentions. If it remains silent it may have nefarious intentions.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1766868 fuliginosa Amphisbaenians of Brazil Reptiles of Colombia Reptiles of French Guiana Reptiles of Guyana Reptiles of Peru Reptiles of Suriname Reptiles of Venezuela Reptiles described in 1758 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus