Amphisbaena mertensii (Squamata: Amphisbaenidae): Notes on natural history, distribution, and morphology

Amphisbaena mertensii is a worm lizard species from South America. Because of its subterranean life-style, data on its biology are scarce. In this paper, we present the first record of A. mertensii as prey of a bird, the wood rail Aramides cajaneus. We also review the geographic range of this species, reporting it for 114 localities from west-central Brazil to northeastern Argentina. We update the range of precloacal pores in A. mertensii from 5-8 to 4-8, and report the largest individual of this species with a 458 mm snout-vent length.

Automated summary

This paper presents the first record of Amphisbaena mertensii as prey of the wood rail Aramides cajaneus. The geographic range of A. mertensii is reviewed, and the precloacal pore range is updated. The largest individual of this species is also reported.