Not
a lizard, not a snake, and certainly not a worm, the
peculiar Florida worm lizard is a burrower that occurs
only in dry habitats in central Florida. (Taxonomically,
it's a member of the Amphisbaenia, one of three suborders
of squamate reptiles, the other two being lizards and
snakes.) Highly adapted for a life underground, the worm
lizard's eyes are covered over with scales and the snout
is wedge-shaped and very rigid for pushing through the
sand. Worm lizards (they get up to 12" long) are
actually not uncommon but they stay underground and are
rarely seen.
The Florida worm lizard is the
only amphisbanian native to the United States. Other,
distantly related, species occur in Africa and Central
and South America. Fossils tell us that the closest
relative of the Florida worm lizard lived in the North
American Great Plains 25 million years ago. They have
since gone extinct everywhere except central Florida.
Not
a lizard, not a snake, and certainly not a worm, the
peculiar Florida worm lizard is a burrower that occurs
only in dry habitats in central Florida. (Taxonomically,
it's a member of the Amphisbaenia, one of three suborders
of squamate reptiles, the other two being lizards and
snakes.) Highly adapted for a life underground, the worm
lizard's eyes are covered over with scales and the snout
is wedge-shaped and very rigid for pushing through the
sand. Worm lizards (they get up to 12" long) are
actually not uncommon but they stay underground and are
rarely seen. 
The Florida worm lizard is the
only amphisbanian native to the United States. Other,
distantly related, species occur in Africa and Central
and South America. Fossils tell us that the closest
relative of the Florida worm lizard lived in the North
American Great Plains 25 million years ago. They have
since gone extinct everywhere except central Florida.
