Fine Art

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Regnum: Animalia
Subregnum: Eumetazoa
Cladus: Bilateria
Cladus: Nephrozoa
Superphylum: Deuterostomia
Phylum: Chordata
Cladus: Craniata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Infraphylum: Gnathostomata
Superclassis: Tetrapoda
Cladus: Reptiliomorpha
Cladus: Amniota
Classis: Reptilia
Cladus: Eureptilia
Cladus: Romeriida
Subclassis: Diapsida
Cladus: Sauria
Infraclassis: Lepidosauromorpha
Superordo: Lepidosauria
Ordo: Squamata
Cladus: Unidentata Episquamata

Subordo: Lacertoidea
Infraordo: Lacertibaenia
Cladus: Amphisbaenia

Familia: Bipedidae
Genus: Bipes
Species: B. alvarezi - B. biporus - B. canaliculatus - B. tridactylus
Name

Bipes Latreille, 1802
Vernacular names
English: Two-legged Worm Lizards

Bipes is a genus of amphisbaenians found only in Mexico, the sole living member of the family Bipedidae.[2] Commonly known as ajolotes, they are carnivorous, burrowing reptiles, but unlike other species of amphisbaenians, they possess two stubby forelimbs placed far forward on the body.[3] They also retain an almost complete pectoral girdle.[4] The shovel-like limbs are used to scrape away soil while burrowing, in a manner similar to a mole.[5] Evidence for their occurrence in the United States is reviewed by Somma (1993).
References

ITIS (Integrated Taxonomic Information System). www.itis.gov.
Longrich NR, Vinther J, Pyron RA, Pisani D, Gauthier JA (2015). "Biogeography of worm lizards (Amphisbaenia) driven by end-Cretaceous mass extinction". Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. 282 (1806): 20143034. doi:10.1098/rspb.2014.3034. PMC 4426617. PMID 25833855.
"Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2012-12-16. Retrieved 2013-01-26.
Westphal, Natascha; Mahlow, Kristin; Head, Jason James; Müller, Johannes (2019-01-10). "Pectoral myology of limb-reduced worm lizards (Squamata, Amphisbaenia) suggests decoupling of the musculoskeletal system during the evolution of body elongation". BMC Evolutionary Biology. 19 (1): 16. doi:10.1186/s12862-018-1303-1. ISSN 1471-2148. PMC 6329177. PMID 30630409.

Gans C (1998). Cogger HG; Zweifel RG (eds.). Encyclopedia of Reptiles and Amphibians. San Diego: Academic Press. pp. 216–217. ISBN 0-12-178560-2.

Further reading

Latreille PA (1801). In: Sonnini CS, Latreiile PA (1801). Histoire naturelle des reptiles, avec figures desinées d'après nature; Tome II. Premiere partie. Quadrupèdes et bipèdes ovipares. Paris: Crapalet. 332 pp. (Bipes, pp. 90–96.)
Taylor EH (1951). "Concerning Oligocene Amphisbaenid Reptiles". University of Kansas Science Bulletin 34 (9): 521–579. (Bipedidae, p. 522.)
Somma, Louis A. (1993). "Do Worm Lizards Occur in Nebraska?" Nebraska Herpetological Newsletter 12 (2): 1–10

Biology Encyclopedia

Reptiles Images

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/"
All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License

Home - Hellenica World