''Amphisbaena ridleyi'', known by the

common name In biology, a common name of a taxon or organism (also known as a vernacular name, English name, colloquial name, country name, popular name, or farmer's name) is a name that is based on the normal language of everyday life; and is often contrast ...

s Ridley's worm lizard or the Noronha worm lizard, is a species of

amphisbaenian 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 ...

in the family Amphisbaenidae. The species is endemic to the island of Fernando de Noronha off the coast of Brazil. It is one of two indigenous

reptile Reptiles, as most commonly defined are the animals in the class Reptilia ( ), a paraphyletic grouping comprising all sauropsids except birds. Living reptiles comprise turtles, crocodilians, squamates (lizards and snakes) and rhynchocephalians ( ...

s on the island.

Taxonomy

Italian explorer Amerigo Vespucci may have visited Fernando de Noronha in 1503. In an account of his voyage, the authenticity of which is doubtful, he records "some snakes" from the island. Although ''Amphisbaena ridleyi'' is not a snake, the difference would be clear only to a herpetologist, and it is likely that Vespucci's men actually saw ''A. ridleyi''. He also recorded "lizards with two tails" and "very big rats", which can be identified with ''

Trachylepis atlantica The Noronha skink (''Trachylepis atlantica'') is a species of skink from the island of Fernando de Noronha off northeastern List of reptiles of Brazil, Brazil. It is covered with dark and light spots on the upperparts and is usually about in le ...

'' and ''

Noronhomys vespuccii ''Noronhomys vespuccii'', also known as Vespucci's rodent, is an extinct rat species from the islands of Fernando de Noronha off northeastern Brazil. Italian explorer Amerigo Vespucci may have seen it on a visit to Fernando de Noronha in 1503, ...

''. In 1887, botanist Henry Nicholas Ridley collected 16 specimens on Fernando de Noronha, which were deposited in the British Museum of Natural History, and in 1890,

George Albert Boulenger George Albert Boulenger (19 October 1858 – 23 November 1937) was a Belgian-British zoologist who described and gave scientific names to over 2,000 new animal species, chiefly fish, reptiles, and amphibians. Boulenger was also an active botani ...

officially described it as ''Amphisbaena ridleyi'', naming it after Ridley. The

generic Generic or generics may refer to: In business * Generic term, a common name used for a range or class of similar things not protected by trademark * Generic brand, a brand for a product that does not have an associated brand or trademark, other ...

name ''Amphisbaena'' is a compound of two Greek words: ''αμφις'' (''amphis''), meaning "both ways", and ''βαινειν'' (''bainein''), meaning "to go". This is in reference to the appearance of having a head on either end of its body, meaning the animal can "go either way". In 1945, a Lt. Finley acquired five individuals and in 1973, ornithologist

Storrs L. Olson Storrs Lovejoy Olson (April 3, 1944 – January 20, 2021) was an American biologist and ornithologist who spent his career at the Smithsonian Institution, retiring in 2008. One of the world's foremost avian paleontologists, he was best known ...

collected 12 additional examples, which are now in the

United States National Museum The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Founded ...

Distribution

''A. ridleyi'' is found on the island of Fernando de Noronha, a small volcanic archipelago in the equatorial South Atlantic 345 km off the northeastern Brazilian coast. It is common in suitable habitat;Carleton MD, Olson SL (1999)
"Amerigo Vespucci and the rat of Fernando de Noronha: a new genus and species of Rodentia (Muridae, Sigmodontinae) from a volcanic island off Brazil's continental shelf ".
''American Museum Novitates'' (3256): 1–59. Olson reported that it could easily be found in forests by turning over stones. Malathronas mentions that it can be seen basking in the sun on Morro de Pico.

Description

Despite a superficial resemblance to primitive snakes, amphisbaenians such as ''Amphisbaena ridleyi'' have features which distinguish them from other reptiles. Internally, the right lung is reduced in size to fit the narrow body, whereas in snakes, it is the left lung that is reduced in size. The typical length for this species is . ''Amphisbaena ridleyi'' has a stout head with a broad snout, not set off from the neck. Most of the skull is solid bone, and it has a distinctive single median tooth in the upper jaw. It has no outer ears, and the eyes are deeply recessed and covered with skin and scales. The body is elongated, and the tail truncates in a manner that vaguely resembles the head. It lacks legs but has remnants of the pelvic and pectoral girdles embedded within its body musculature. The tail is only loosely attached to the body. ''A. ridleyi'' moves using an accordion-like motion, in which the skin moves and the body seemingly just drags along behind it. It is also able to effectively perform this locomotion in reverse.

Diet

''Amphisbaena ridleyi'' is

carnivorous A carnivore , or meat-eater (Latin, ''caro'', genitive ''carnis'', meaning meat or "flesh" and ''vorare'' meaning "to devour"), is an animal or plant whose food and energy requirements derive from animal tissues (mainly muscle, fat and other sof ...

, and has blunt, interlocking, teeth, meant for crushing its prey, primarily snails ''(

Hyperaulax ridleyi ''Hyperaulax ridleyi'' is a species of tropical air-breathing land snail, a terrestrial pulmonate gastropod mollusk in the family Odontostomidae.Breure A. S. H. & Ablett J. D. (2012) "Annotated type catalogue of the Bothriembryontidae and Odontos ...

)'', but its diet includes other invertebrates. It is the only amphisbaenian known to have specializations for eating hard food such as snails. In periods of drought ''Amphisbaena ridleyi'' climbs the trunks of Mulungu trees to obtain nectar from the flowers.

Reproduction

''A. ridleyi'' 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 ...

. www.reptile-database.org.

References

External links

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2711079

ridleyi Henry Nicholas Ridley CMG (1911), MA (Oxon), FRS, FLS, F.R.H.S. (10 December 1855 – 24 October 1956) was an English botanist, geologist and naturalist who lived much of his life in Singapore. He was instrumental in promoting rubber trees ...

Reptiles of Brazil Endemic fauna of Brazil Fernando de Noronha Reptiles described in 1890 Taxa named by George Albert Boulenger