Heath's worm lizard explained

Heath's worm lizard (Amphisbaena heathi) is a species of amphisbaenian in the family Amphisbaenidae. The species is endemic to Brazil, in the state of Rio Grande do Norte.

Etymology

The specific name, heathi, is in honor of American malacologist Harold Heath.^[1]

Diet

A. heathi feeds mainly on termites, ants, insect larvae, and cockroach nymphs, but will also eat earthworms, leeches, and centipedes.^[2]

Reproduction

A. heathi is oviparous. Eggs are laid during the dry season.

See also

• List of reptiles of Brazil

Further reading

• Gans C (1965). "On Amphisbaena heathi Schmidt and A. carvalhoi, new species, small forms from the northeast of Brazil (Amphisbaenia: Reptilia)". Proceedings of the California Academy of Sciences, Fourth Series 31 (23): 613–630.
• Gans C (2005). "Checklist and Bibliography of the Amphisbaenia of the World". Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History (289): 1–130. (Amphisbaena heathi, p. 14).
• Oliveira, Cícero Ricardo de; Roberto, Igor Joventino; Sousa, José Guilherme Gonçalves de; Ávila, Robson Waldemar (2019). "On the ecology of Amphisbaena heathi (Squamata: Amphisbaenidae) from Northeastern Brazil". Herpetological Review 50 (1): 62–66.
• Schmidt KP (1936). "Notes on Brazilian Amphisbaenians". Herpetologica 1 (1): 28–32. (Amphisbaena heathi, new species).
• Vanzolini PE (2002). "An aid to the identification of the South American species of Amphisbaena (Squamata, Amphisbaenidae)". Papéis Avulsos de Zoologia, Museu de Zoologia da Universidade de São Paulo 42 (15): 351–362.

Notes and References

1. [species:Bo Beolens|Beolens, Bo]
2. Lisboa, Carolina Maria Cardoso Aires; Sales, Raul Fernandes Dantas; Macêdo, Bruno Rafael Morais de; Freire, Eliza Maria Xavier (2016). "Diet of Amphisbaena heathi Schmidt, 1936 (Squamata: Amphisbaenidae) from Remnants of the Atlantic Forest, Northeastern Brazil, with Notes on Distribution, Diagnosis and Conservation". South American Journal of Herpetology 11 (1): 12-17.