The Kalahari worm lizard (''Monopeltis leonhardi''), also known
commonly as the Kalahari spade-snouted 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 ...
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
Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...
Amphisbaenidae. The species is indigenous to southern
Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
.
Etymology
The
specific name Specific name may refer to:
* in Database management systems, a system-assigned name that is unique within a particular database
In taxonomy, either of these two meanings, each with its own set of rules:
* Specific name (botany), the two-part (bino ...
, ''leonhardi'', is in honor of German ethnographer
Leonhard Schultze-Jena
Leonhard Schultze-Jena (full name: Leonhard Sigmund Friedrich Kuno Klaus Schultze-Jena; born May 28, 1872 in Jena; died March 28, 1955 in Marburg) was a German explorer, zoologist, and anthropologist known for his explorations of German Southwe ...
.
[ Beolens B, Watkins M, ]Grayson M
Grayson may refer to:
Places Canada
* Grayson, Saskatchewan
* Rural Municipality of Grayson No. 184, Saskatchewan
United States
* Grayson, California
* Grayson, Georgia
** Grayson High School
* Grayson, Kentucky
* Grayson, Louisiana
* Gray ...
(2011). ''The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles''. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. . (''Monopeltis leonhardi'', p. 155,; "Schultze", p. 238).
Geographic range
''M. leonhardi'' is found in
Botswana
Botswana (, ), officially the Republic of Botswana ( tn, Lefatshe la Botswana, label=Setswana, ), is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Botswana is topographically flat, with approximately 70 percent of its territory being the Kalahar ...
,
Namibia
Namibia (, ), officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa. Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and ea ...
,
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...
and
Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and Mozam ...
.
Habitat
The preferred natural
habitat
In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...
of ''M. leonhardi'' is shallow sand.
[
]
Description
''M. leonhardi'' is purplish pink dorsally, and pinkish ventrally. Adults usually have a snout-to-vent length (SVL) of . The maximum recorded SVL is .[ Branch, Bill (2004). ''Field Guide to Snakes and other Reptiles of Southern Africa''. Third Revised edition, Second impression. Sanibel Island, Florida: Ralph Curtis Books. 399 pp. . (''Monopeltis leonhardi'', p. 125 + Plate 41).]
Reproduction
The mode of reproduction of ''M. leonhardi'' is unknown.[
]
References
Further reading
* Gans C (2010). "Checklist and Bibliography of the Amphisbaenia of the World". ''Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History'' (289): 1–130. (''Monopeltis leonhardi'', p. 36).
* FitzSimons V, Brain CK (1958). "A Short Account of the Reptiles of the Kalahari Gemsbok National Park". ''Koedoe, African Protected Area Conservation and Science'' 1 (1): 99–104. (''Monopeltis leonhardi'', p. 102).
* Werner F (2010). "''Reptilia et Amphibia''". pp. 279–370. ''In'': Schultze L (1910). "''Zoologische und anthropologische Ergebnisse einer Forschungsreise im westlichen und zentralen Südafrika ausgeführt in den Jahren 1903–1905 mit Unterstützung der Kgl. preussischen Akademie der Wissenschaften zu Berlin. Vierter Band: Systematik und Tiergeographie. Zweite Lieferung'' ". ''Denkschriften der medicinisch-naturwissenschaftlichen Gesellschaft zu Jena'' 16: 1–522 + Plates I–XIX. (''Monopeltis leonhardi'', new species, p. 328 + Plate VI, figures 2, 2a, 2b, 2c). (in German).
Monopeltis
Reptiles of Botswana
Reptiles of Namibia
Reptiles of South Africa
Reptiles of Zimbabwe
Reptiles described in 1910
Taxa named by Franz Werner
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