#spectacled lizard

[herpsandbirds]

Northern Spectacled Lizard (Loxopholis southi), family Gymnophthalmidae, Costa Rica

photograph by Cristian Torica

[libutron]

Spectacled Lizard - Bachia geralista 

This is not a worm, nor a snake, but a Spectacled Lizard of the species Bachia geralista (Gymnophthalmidae), endemic to Brazil.

Spectacled lizards of the Gymnophthalmidae family are informally referred to as microteiids. Gymnophthalmids have a complex taxonomy derived not only from the rarity of many taxa, but also from the presence of convergent morphological adaptations to specialized habitats. Limb reduction, body elongation, loss of eyelids and/or of external ear openings, are some of the characters that contribute to the present difficulty of resolving relationships among microteiids at all hierarchical levels.

Bachia geralista is a large-sized species (101 mm of maximum known SVL), with noticeable body elongation and limb reduction. In this species the fore and hindlimbs end in an single apical scale (can you see the limbs in the photo?). 

References: [1] - [2]

Photo credit: ©Renato Gaiga | Locality: Brazil (2014)