Mbanja worm lizard

The Mbanja worm lizard (Chirindia ewerbecki), also known commonly as Ewerbeck's round-headed worm lizard, is a species of amphisbaenian in the family Amphisbaenidae. The species is endemic to Tanzania. There are two recognized subspecies.[2]

Mbanja worm lizard
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Family: Amphisbaenidae
Genus: Chirindia
Species:
C. ewerbecki
Binomial name
Chirindia ewerbecki
F. Werner, 1910

Etymology

The specific name, ewerbecki, is in honor of German customs official Karl Ewerbeck, who collected the holotype.[3]

Geographic range

C. ewerbecki is found in extreme southeastern Tanzania.[1]

Habitat

The preferred natural habitat of C. ewerbecki is savanna, at an altitude of about 300 m (980 ft).[1]

Reproduction

C. ewerbecki is oviparous.[2] The adult female lays a single egg.[1]

Subspecies

Two subspecies are recognized as being valid, including the nominotypical subspecies.[2]

  • Chirindia ewerbecki ewerbecki F. Werner, 1910
  • Chirindia ewerbecki nanguruwensis (Loveridge, 1962)

Nota bene: A trinomial authority in parentheses indicates that the subspecies was originally described in a genus other than Chirindia.

References
  1. Msuya CA, Ngalason W, Howell K (2021). "Chirindia ewerbecki ". The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2021: https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2021-3.RLTS.T196956A44839502.en. Accessed on 09 February 2023.
  2. Chirindia ewerbecki at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database. Accessed 24 February 2019.
  3. Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. ISBN 978-1-4214-0135-5. (Chirindia ewerbecki, p. 86).

Further reading
  • Broadley DG, Gans C (1978). "Southern forms of Chirindia (Amphibaenia, Reptilia)". Annals of Carnegie Museum 47: 29–51.
  • Loveridge A (1962). "New worm-lizards (Ancylocranium and Amphisbaena) from southeastern Tanganyika territory". Breviora (163): 1–6. (Amphisbaena nanguruwensis, new species, pp. 5–6).
  • Spawls S, Howell K, Hinkel H, Menegon M (2018). Field Guide to East African Reptiles, Second Edition. London: Bloomsbury Natural History. 624 pp. ISBN 978-1472935618.
  • Werner F (1910). "Über neue oder seltene Reptilien des Naturhistorischen Museums in Hamburg. II. Eidechsen". Jahrbuch der Hamburgischen Wissenschaftlichen Anstalten 27 (supplement 2): 1–46. (Chirindia ewerbecki, new species, p. 37). (in German).



This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.