Meet the Sand-plain Worm Lizard

Article | Updated 7 years ago

The Sand-plain Worm Lizard, or Aprasia repens, is a terrestrial reptile that grows up to 18cm in length.

Ancestry and Appearance

Worm Lizards are actually a group of small, slender, legless geckos called 'pygopods'. They possess no remnants of their gecko ancestry, and instead have evolved long thin bodies, and are a pale greyish-brown colour.

The scales on their head are greatly reduced compared to geckos, and this is the key to identifying the Sand-plain Worm Lizard in many cases. 

Breeding

These reptiles do still have things in common with other gecko relatives, however. For example, like other geckos, they produce two eggs per clutch in the springtime.

Behaviour

The Sand-plain Worm Lizard spends almost all of its time below the surface of the sand, and as such is rarely seen, except perhaps after showers.