the.com/worm lizard
a reptile that ditched its legs to become the underground's best impersonator of spaghetti.
means A worm lizard is a burrowing reptile (an amphisbaenian) that looks like a large earthworm, with a ringed, segmented-looking body, usually no legs, and reduced eyes from a life spent tunneling underground.
from The English name simply pairs "worm" with "lizard," describing exactly what the creature resembles. The scientific name, amphisbaenian, comes from the Greek Amphisbaena — a mythical serpent said to have a head at each end (from amphis, "both ways," and bainein, "to go"). Ancient writers imagined it could move in either direction, and the real animal earns the comparison: its blunt tail looks much like its head, so it genuinely seems to crawl both ways.
- not a lizard
- They're amphisbaenians, their own ancient reptile lineage.
- both ends
- Genus name means it can move backward and forward.
- skull builders
- Some shovel tunnels using reinforced battering-ram heads.
- rare legs
- One family kept tiny front limbs, the rest went limbless.
- hidden eyes
- Skin-covered eyes detect only light and shadow.
amphisbaena — legless burrowing lizard found in central and south america, africa, and mediterranean region with eyes covered by scales
bipes biporus — mexican worm lizard with only front limbs, endemic to mexico's pacific coast region