Zarudny's worm lizard (''Diplometopon zarudnyi'') 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 ...
reptile 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 ...
Trogonophidae
Trogonophidae (Palearctic worm lizards or desert ringed lizards) is a small family of amphisbaenians, containing five species in four genera.
Geographic range
Trogonophids are found in North Africa, the Horn of Africa, the Arabian Peninsula, ...
. The species is
monotypic
In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unispec ...
within 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 ...
''Diplometopon''. The species is native to the
Middle East
The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...
.
Etymology
The
specific name, ''zarudnyi'', is in honor of Russian zoologist
Nikolai Zarudny
Nikolai Alekseyvich Zarudny (russian: Николай Алексеевич Зарудный; rus, Николай Алексеевич Зарудный, r=Nikolay Alekseevich Zarudny. His name has been transliterated a number of other ways; especial ...
.
Geographic range
''D. zarudnyi'' is found in western
Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
, southern
Iraq
Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...
, and on the
Arabian peninsula
The Arabian Peninsula, (; ar, شِبْهُ الْجَزِيرَةِ الْعَرَبِيَّة, , "Arabian Peninsula" or , , "Island of the Arabs") or Arabia, is a peninsula of Western Asia, situated northeast of Africa on the Arabian Plate ...
in
Kuwait
Kuwait (; ar, الكويت ', or ), officially the State of Kuwait ( ar, دولة الكويت '), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated in the northern edge of Eastern Arabia at the tip of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to the nort ...
,
Oman
Oman ( ; ar, عُمَان ' ), officially the Sultanate of Oman ( ar, سلْطنةُ عُمان ), is an Arabian country located in southwestern Asia. It is situated on the southeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula, and spans the mouth of t ...
,
Qatar
Qatar (, ; ar, قطر, Qaṭar ; local vernacular pronunciation: ), officially the State of Qatar,) is a country in Western Asia. It occupies the Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it sh ...
, northern
Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...
, and the
United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia (The Middle East). It is located at th ...
.
[ www.reptile-database.org.]
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 ...
s of ''D. zarudnyi'' are
desert
A desert is a barren area of landscape where little precipitation occurs and, consequently, living conditions are hostile for plant and animal life. The lack of vegetation exposes the unprotected surface of the ground to denudation. About on ...
,
grassland
A grassland is an area where the vegetation is dominated by grasses (Poaceae). However, sedge (Cyperaceae) and rush (Juncaceae) can also be found along with variable proportions of legumes, like clover, and other herbs. Grasslands occur natur ...
, and
shrubland
Shrubland, scrubland, scrub, brush, or bush is a plant community characterized by vegetation dominated by shrubs, often also including grasses, herbs, and geophytes. Shrubland may either occur naturally or be the result of human activity. It m ...
, at altitudes from sea level to .
Description
''D. zarudnyi'' typically measures approximately in total length (including tail). Because it has no limbs, it uses body undulations similar to a snake to move itself along. It has limited vision.
Behavior
''D. zarudnyi'' is
terrestrial
Terrestrial refers to things related to land or the planet Earth.
Terrestrial may also refer to:
* Terrestrial animal, an animal that lives on land opposed to living in water, or sometimes an animal that lives on or near the ground, as opposed to ...
and
fossorial
A fossorial () animal is one adapted to digging which lives primarily, but not solely, underground. Some examples are badgers, naked mole-rats, clams, meerkats, and mole salamanders, as well as many beetles, wasps, and bees.
Prehistoric eviden ...
, burrowing in sand or loose soil.
Diet
The diet of ''D. zarudnyi'' consists of
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 ...
s (mainly larvae and adults of
beetle
Beetles are insects that form the order Coleoptera (), in the superorder Endopterygota. Their front pair of wings are hardened into wing-cases, elytra, distinguishing them from most other insects. The Coleoptera, with about 400,000 describ ...
s of the genus ''
Dermestes
''Dermestes'' is a genus of beetles in the family Dermestidae, the skin beetles. The genus is distributed worldwide.Magni, P. A., et al. (2015)A biological and procedural review of forensically significant ''Dermestes'' species (Coleoptera: Derm ...
''), and other 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 ...
s.
[ Al-Sadoon MK, Paray BA, Rudayni HA (2016). "Diet of the Worm Lizard, ''Diplometopon zarudnyi'' (Nikolsky, 1907), in Riyadh province, Saudi Arabia (Reptilia: Trogonophidae)". ''Zoology in the Middle East'' 62 (3): 227–230.]
Reproduction
''D. zarudnyi'' is
oviparous.
[
]
Conservation status
''D. zarudnyi'' is classified as Least Concern (LC) in the IUCN
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natu ...
Red List.
References
Further reading
*Haas G
Haas G (born Carlos Evans, aka Fantom of the Beat) is a Staten Island-based hip hop musician. Haas G was part of the 1990s rap duo The U.M.C.'s, and as Carlos Evans, he is credited as producer of the hit "Magic Stick" ( Lil' Kim featuring 50 C ...
(1957). "Some Amphibians and Reptiles from Arabia". ''Proceedings of the California Academy of Sciences, Fourth Series'' 29 (3): 47–86. (''Diplometopon zarudnyi'', pp. 71–72, Figure 8).
* Nikolsky AM (1907). " eptiles and Amphibians Collected by N. A. Zarudny in Persia in 1903–1904. ''Annuaire du Musée Zoologique de l'Académie Impériale des Sciences de St.-Pétersbourg'' 10 (3–4): 260–301. (''Diplometopon'', new genus, pp. 276–277; ''D. zarudnyi'', new species, pp. 277–280, figures 1–3). (in Latin and Russian).
* Rudayni HA, Al-Sadoon MK, Paray BA (2017). "Morphological characteristics of worm lizard, ''Diplometopon zarudnyi'' (Squamata: Trogonophidae), in the central region of Saudi Arabia". ''Saudi Journal of Biological Sciences'' 24 (4): 966–971.
* Sindaco R, Jeremčenko VK (2008). ''Reptiles of the Western Palearctic. 1. Annotated Checklist and Distributional Atlas of the Turtles, Crocodiles, Amphisbaenians and Lizards of Europe, North Africa, Middle East and Central Asia''. (Monographs of the ''Societas Herpetologica Italica''). Latina, Italy: Edizioni Belvedere. 580 pp. .
Trogonophidae
Reptiles of the Arabian Peninsula
Reptiles of Iran
Reptiles of Iraq
Reptiles described in 1907
Taxa named by Alexander Nikolsky
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