Zarudny's worm lizard explained

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.

Etymology

The specific name, zarudnyi, is in honor of Russian zoologist Nikolai Zarudny.^[1]

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.^[2]

Habitat

The preferred natural habitats of D. zarudnyi are desert, grassland, and shrubland, at altitudes from sea level to 1000m (3,000feet).

Description

D. zarudnyi typically measures approximately 30cm (10inches) 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 and fossorial, burrowing in sand or loose soil.

Diet

The diet of D. zarudnyi consists of insects (mainly larvae and adults of beetles of the genus Dermestes), and other small invertebrates.^[3]

Reproduction

D. zarudnyi is oviparous.^[2]

Conservation status

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

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 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. .

Notes and References

1. [species:Bo Beolens|Beolens, Bo]
2. www.reptile-database.org.
3. [species:Mohammad K. Al-Sadoon|Al-Sadoon MK]