Black &White Worm Lizard, Amphisbaena fuliginosa Linnaeus

Cocal on Trinidad's east coast. JCM

Amphisbaena fuliginosa Linnaeus 1758

Amphisbaena fuliginosa Linnaeus 1758:229. Type locality: America. Restricted to the Guianas by Vanzolini (1951), and further restricted to the confluence of the Cottica River and Perica Creek, Suriname, by Hoogmoed (1973).

Size. 425 mm SVL; tail 11−17% of the body. Identification. A legless lizard; black and white (sometimes pink) mottled dorsum and ventral surface; median groove on the head; three upper labials, three or four lower

labials; ocular small with 1–2 postoculars. Head about as wide as body, slightly swollen towards the back of the skull with a deep groove along the mid-line; snout blunt and projects over lower jaw. Dorsal scales are rectangular with rounded corners, ventral scales rectangular and more angular than dorsals; dorsal and ventral scales separated by a lateral fold along the length of the body. Trinidad specimens have 186–211 body annuli, 21–28 tail annuli; preanal pores 8–11. Similar species. The only other legless lizard on Trinidad is A. alba and it has more body annuli, more scales around mid-body, is tan and white or red and white in color and has a much shorter tail than this species.

Distribution. Lowlands of Panama southward to Peru and Brazil. It is present on Trinidad, unknown from Tobago.

Habitat. Forest, savanna, disturbed areas; associated with leafcutter ant nests.

Biology. Maybe active any time of day. The diet includes earthworms, insects, centipedes, and lizard eggs. They have also been found to eat ants, including the adults of the army ants of the subfamily Ecitoninae. In an attempt to escape a predator, the lizard will dig with its head, while the tail waves in a continuous arc with the tip directed anteriorly. If the head is touched while digging, the lizard crawls backward. The display stops if the lizard is lifted off the substrate. The tail display likely distracts and confuses predators. The tail display probably works in combination with the strongly contrasting coloration on the tail to produce a memorable experience for the predator. The eggs of this species have been found in ant nests which may provide a stable environment for their development.

Natural History. Maybe active any time of the day in leaf litter or loose soil. Uses savanna and forest habitats. Feeds on arthropods, and may be associated with leafcutter ant nests.