worm lizard

plural worm lizards · alternative worm-lizard

1. Any of many small limbless burrowing tropical squamate reptiles, of the family Amphisbaenidae or of the superfamily or suborder Amphisbaenia, that resemble worms.

   Most species of worm-lizard still retain remnants of their pelvis and pectoral girdle (hips and shoulders), but only four species from Mexico out of the 180 currently known around the world still have functioning forelimbs.

   2016 July 13, Elsa Panciroli, “How did legless worm-lizards cross the Atlantic?”, in The Guardian