Iberian Worm Lizard

• It is the only amphisbaenian native to Europe, and looks like a worm.
• Its tiny eyes make out only changes in light intensity.
• It hunts insects underground, and occasionally small lizards.
• anatomíaIt spends almost its whole life underground, looks very much like an earthworm and is hard to tell from a true snake at a glance.

Skeleton type

Vertebrate - internal bony skeleton (reptile)

Habitat & environment

Mediterranean scrub, old olive groves, vineyards and coastal dunes on loose sandy soils of the Iberian Peninsula

Birth weight

A single egg, laid and buried

Size at birth

Precocial and fully formed on hatching

Sexual maturity

Not precisely known

Gestation / incubation

Underground incubation over a period the sources do not put a figure on

Litter / clutch size

A single egg per clutch (no precise figure for the number of clutches a year)

Sources consulted: Monaco Nature Encyclopedia; Grokipedia; Wikipedia (Iberian worm lizard); Animalia.bio; EBSCO Research Starters; iNaturalist; AnAge (genomics.senescence.info)

Best time: From March to October, mostly after rain; it lives underground and turns up when stones are lifted or the leaf mould is disturbed.