Bipes
Mexican mole lizard (Bipes biporus)
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
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]

Bipes is a genus of amphisbaenians found only in Mexico, the sole living member of the family Bipedidae.[2] 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

  1. ↑ ITIS (Integrated Taxonomic Information System). www.itis.gov.
  2. ↑ Longrich, Nicholas R.; Vinther, Jakob; Pyron, R. Alexander; Pisani, Davide & Gauthier, Jacques 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. ↑ "5 Amazing Creatures You May Find While Adventuring". What am I doing online?. Archived from the original on 2012-12-16. Retrieved 2013-01-26.
  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 (1): 16. doi:10.1186/s12862-018-1303-1. PMC 6329177. PMID 30630409.
  5. ↑ 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


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