Urucum worm lizard | |
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Scientific classification
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Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Reptilia |
Order: | Squamata |
Family: | Amphisbaenidae |
Genus: | Amphisbaena |
Species: | A. leeseri
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Binomial name | |
Amphisbaena leeseri
Gans, 1964
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The Urucum worm lizard (Amphisbaena leeseri) is a species of amphisbaenian in the family Amphisbaenidae. The species is native to central South America.
The specific name, leeseri, is in honor of Leo Leeser (1871–1942), who died in the Theresienstadt concentration camp, but whose estate funded the Leo Leeser Center for Tropical Biology. [2]
A. leeseri is found in southwestern Brazil ( Mato Grosso do Sul state) and in adjacent northern Paraguay. [3]
The preferred natural habitat of A. leeseri is savanna. [1]
A. leeseri is small for its genus. It has 216–240 body annuli (rings of scales), and 14–16 tail annuli. [3]
A. leeseri is terrestrial and fossorial. [1]