Zarudny's worm lizard

Zarudny's worm lizard (Diplometopon zarudnyi) is a species of amphisbaenian reptile in the family Trogonophidae. The species is monotypic within the genus Diplometopon. The species is native to the Middle East.

Zarudny's worm lizard
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Family: Trogonophidae
Genus: Diplometopon
Nikolsky, 1907
Species:
D. zarudnyi
Binomial name
Diplometopon zarudnyi
Nikolsky, 1907[2]
Synonyms[3]
  • Diplometopon zarudnyi
    Nikolsky, 1907
  • Pachycalamus zarudnyi
    — Boulenger, 1920
  • Diplometopon zarudnyi
    — Haas, 1957
  • Diplometopon shueaibi
    Niazi, 1979
  • Diplometopon zarudnyi
    — Gans, 2005

Etymology

The specific name, zarudnyi, is in honor of Russian zoologist Nikolai Zarudny.[4]

Geographic range

D. zarudnyi is found in western Iran, southern Iraq, and on the Arabian peninsula in Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, northern Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates.[3]

Habitat

The preferred natural habitats of D. zarudnyi are desert, grassland, and shrubland, at altitudes from sea level to 1,000 m (3,300 ft).[1]

Description

D. zarudnyi typically measures approximately 30 cm (12 in) 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.

Diet

The diet of D. zarudnyi consists of insects (mainly larvae and adults of beetles of the genus Dermestes), and other small invertebrates.[5]

Reproduction

D. zarudnyi is oviparous.[3]

Conservation status

D. zarudnyi is classified as Least Concern (LC) in the IUCN Red List.[1]

References
  1. Behbehani SJY, Els J, Soorae P, Al Johany AMH, Papenfuss T (2012). "Diplometopon zarudnyi ". The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2012: e.T164643A1063445. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2012.RLTS.T164643A1063445.en. Downloaded on 29 January 2021.
  2. "Diplometopon zarudnyi Nikolsky, 1907". Species. GBIF.
  3. Species Diplometopon zarudnyi at The Reptile Database www.reptile-database.org.
  4. Beolens B, Watkins M, Grayson M (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. ISBN 978-1-4214-0135-5. (Diplometopon zarudnyi, p. 293).
  5. 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.

Further reading
  • Haas G (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). "[Reptiles 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 Palearctc. 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. ISBN 978-88-89504-14-7.



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