Flower's blind lizard (''Dibamus floweri'') is a

legless lizard Legless lizard may refer to any of several groups of lizards that have independently lost limbs or reduced them to the point of being of no use in locomotion.Pough ''et al.'' 1992. Herpetology: Third Edition. Pearson Prentice Hall:Pearson Education ...

endemic to

peninsular Malaysia Peninsular Malaysia ( ms, Semenanjung Malaysia; Jawi: سمننجڠ مليسيا), or the States of Malaya ( ms, Negeri-negeri Tanah Melayu; Jawi: نڬري-نڬري تانه ملايو), also known as West Malaysia or the Malaysian Peninsula, ...

. It is between 8–13 cm (3.1–5.1 in) long and is gray-brown in color with a lighter ventral surface and a silver-gray band. It burrows beneath rocks, leaf-litter and rotting logs.

Description

Flowers's blind lizard is a legless lizard with a wormlike body and smooth scales. Its snout is rounded, the eyes are covered by scales, and it lacks external ear openings. It is gray-brown in color with a lighter ventral surface and a wide silver-gray band. There are a few differences between the sexes, such as males being approximately 13 cm (3.1 in) long and females being approximately 8 cm (5.1 in) long and males having a larger number of scales. The main external difference is the absence of two short, flattened hindlimbs in females.

Distribution and habitat

Flower's blind lizard has so far only been found on

Mount Korbu Mount Korbu () is a mountain in Hulu Kinta, Perak, Malaysia, about 25 km from Ipoh. It is the highest peak in the state of Perak , located on the Titiwangsa Mountains, the southernmost section of the Tenasserim Hills. Mount Korbu is also the ...

, on Fraser's Hill,

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

between heights of 1,207 and 1,500m. It can be found burrowing beneath rotting logs, leaf-litter and rocks.

Taxonomy and etymology

Flower's blind lizard was named in honour of Major

Stanley Smyth Flower Major Stanley Smyth Flower FLS FZS (1 August 1871 – 3 February 1946) was an English army officer, science advisor, administrator, zoologist and conservationist. Early years Second son of Sir William Henry Flower FRS and his wife Georgiana ...

. It was first described in 2017. The

holotype A holotype is a single physical example (or illustration) of an organism, known to have been used when the species (or lower-ranked taxon) was formally described. It is either the single such physical example (or illustration) or one of several ...

was discovered while digging through leaf litter. It was the 23rd species of ''Dibamus'' that was discovered, and the first montane species of ''Dibamus''.

Behavior

When threatened Flower's blind lizard will flare up the scales on its body, so it appears to be covered in bristles. This might be an attempt to look similar to inedible earthworms.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q47015473 Dibamus Reptiles of Malaysia Endemic fauna of Malaysia Reptiles described in 2017 Taxa named by Shahrul Anuar Taxa named by Larry Lee Grismer Taxa named by Evan Quah