Rhineura Explained

Rhineura is a genus of worm lizard endemic to North America. The genus has only one extant species but more are known from fossil record. They are also known as the North American worm lizards.

History

This genus has a fossil record dating back to at least the Early Miocene,^[1] although if Protorhineura hatcherii is classified as belonging to Rhineura (as it has in the past), the record extends back well into the Oligocene.

While the extant Florida worm lizard is largely restricted to northern Florida, the genus was far more widespread in the past, with the extinct R. marslandensis and R. sepultura known from the Miocene of Nebraska and South Dakota, respectively.^{[2] [3]}

Notes and References

1. Longrich . N.R. . Biogeography of worm lizards (Amphisbaenia) driven by end-Cretaceous mass extinction . Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences . 2015 . 282 . 1806 . 20143034 . 10.1098/rspb.2014.3034. free . 25833855 . 4426617 .
2. Yatkola . D.A. . Mid-Miocene lizards from western Nebraska . Copeia . 1976 . 1976 . 4 . 645–654 . 10.2307/1443444 . 1443444 .
3. Holman . J.A. . A new amphisbaenian of the genus Rhineura from the middle Miocene of South Dakota . Herpetologica . 1979 . 35 . 4 . 383–386 . 3891975.