Trogonophidae

Trogonophids
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Reptilia
Order:	Squamata
Clade:	Amphisbaenia
Family:	Trogonophidae Gray, 1865
Genera
4, See Text.

Trogonophidae (Palearctic worm lizards or desert ringed lizards) is a small family of amphisbaenians, containing five species in four genera. Trogonophids are found in North Africa, the Horn of Africa, the Arabian Peninsula, and western Iran. They are limbless, carnivorous, lizard-like reptiles highly modified for burrowing. They construct their tunnels with an oscillating motion that forces soil into the walls. Unlike other amphisbaenians, their teeth are fused to their jaws, rather than lying in a groove.^[1]

Genera

Agamodon Peters, 1882 (two species)
Diplometopon Nikolskii, 1907 (monotypic)
Pachycalamus Günther, 1881 (monotypic)
Trogonophis Kaup, 1830 (monotypic)

References

↑ Gans, Carl (1998). Cogger, H.G. & Zweifel, R.G., ed. Encyclopedia of Reptiles and Amphibians. San Diego: Academic Press. pp. 216–217. ISBN 0-12-178560-2.

External links

Trogonophidae in the Reptile Database

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