King's worm lizard explained

King's worm lizard (Amphisbaena kingii) is a species of amphisbaenian in the family Amphisbaenidae. The species is endemic to South America.

Etymology

The specific name, kingii, is in honor of Australian marine surveyor Philip Parker King.^[1]

Geographic range

A. kingii is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, and Uruguay.

Habitat

The preferred natural habitats of A. kingii are savanna and grassland.

Description

A. kingii may attain a snout-to-vent length (SVL) of 21cm (08inches), plus a tail about 2cm (01inches) long. Dorsally, it is purplish brown. Ventrally, it is whitish.^[2]

Reproduction

A. kingii is oviparous.

Further reading

• Bell T (1833). "[Characters of two New Genera of Reptiles]". Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London 1833: 98–99. (Anops kingii, new species, p. 99). (in English and Latin).
• Duméril AMC, Bibron G (1839). Erpétologie générale ou Histoire naturelle complète des Reptiles. Tome cinquième [Volume 5]. Paris: Roret. viii + 854 pp. (Amphisbæna kingii, new combination, pp. 496–498). (in French).
• Gans C (2005). "Checklist and Bibliography of the Amphisbaenia of the World". Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History (289): 1–130. (Anops kingii, p. 22).
• Stejneger L (1916). "Notes on Amphisbænian Nomenclature". Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington 29: 85. (Anopsibæna kingii, new combination).

Notes and References

1. [species:Bo Beolens|Beolens, Bo]
2. [George Albert Boulenger|Boulenger GA]