Bipes (lizard)

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).

Bipes
Mexican mole lizard (Bipes biporus)
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Clade: Amphisbaenia
Family: Bipedidae
Genus: Bipes
Latreille, 1801
Species

Bipes biporus (Cope, 1894)
Bipes canaliculatus Latreille, 1801
Bipes tridactylus (Dugès, 1894)[1]

References
  1. ITIS (Integrated Taxonomic Information System). www.itis.gov.
  2. Longrich, N. R.; Vinther, J.; Pyron, R. A.; Pisani, D.; Gauthier, J. A. (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.
  3. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2012-12-16. Retrieved 2013-01-26.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  4. 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. doi:10.1186/s12862-018-1303-1. ISSN 1471-2148. PMC 6329177. PMID 30630409.
  5. Gans, Carl (1998). Cogger, H.G.; Zweifel, R.G. (eds.). Encyclopedia of Reptiles and Amphibians. San Diego: Academic Press. pp. 216–217. ISBN 0-12-178560-2.

Further reading
  • Latreille, P.A. in Sonnini, C.S., and P.A. Latreiile. 1801. Histoire naturelle des reptiles, avec figures desinées d'après nature; Tome II. Premiere partie. Quadrupèdes et bipèdes ovipares. Crapalet. Paris. 332 pp. (Bipes, pp. 90–96.)
  • Taylor, E.H. 1951. Concerning Oligocene Amphisbaenid Reptiles. Univ. Kansas Sci. Bull. 34 (9): 521–579. (Bipedidae, p. 522.)
  • Louis A. Somma, "Do Worm Lizards Occur in Nebraska?" "Nebraska Herpetological Newsletter 12:2 (1993), 1-10


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