Amphisbaena alba
Linnaeus, 1758
Depto Loreto, Peru. January 11, 2011.
Quite possibly the coolest find on my first trip to Peru (and despite the common name, nothing red about it). Rarely seen, this lizard was found swimming across a small creek in the forest at night. It did not bite anyone, but I don’t recall anyone getting their hands close to the lizard’s mouth – it had some small but sharp teeth, and looked like it could put a pretty good twist on a finger. The club-like tail mimics the head, and is waved about to distract and confuse predators.
My Flickr album for this species is here.
HerpMapper records for this species are here.
