the.com/amphisbaenian
A legless lizard so committed to confusing predators it grew a second fake head on its tail.
means A worm-like reptile (and, in legend, a serpent) with blunt heads at both ends of its body, equally capable of moving forward or backward.
from From Greek 'amphisbaina,' literally 'going both ways' — 'amphi' (both/around) plus 'bainein' (to go, to walk). The name first belonged to a mythical serpent, described by ancient writers like Pliny, said to have a head at each end so it could bite from either side. Naturalists later borrowed the word for real burrowing reptiles whose blunt tails mimic their heads, keeping the two-headed myth alive in zoological Latin.
- name origin
- greek for moves both ways
- the trick
- blunt tail mimics head to fool attackers
- myth link
- named after a two-headed serpent of legend
- lifestyle
- spends nearly its whole life burrowing underground