NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Cape Wedgesnouted Worm Lizard
Monopeltis capensis Smith, 1848
Source-backed taxonomic record
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Cape Wedgesnouted Worm Lizard (Monopeltis capensis). Species of reptile.
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Open encyclopedia reference
Monopeltis capensis, also known commonly as the Cape spade-snouted worm lizard, the Cape wedge-snouted worm lizard, the Cape worm lizard, and the South African shield-snouted amphisbaenian, is a species of amphisbaenian in the family Amphisbaenidae. The species is native to southern Africa.
Wikipedia contributors, Monopeltis capensis; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T12:55:48.213623+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Monopeltis capensis Smith, 1848
- Name authority
- Smith, 1848
- Common name
- Cape Wedgesnouted Worm Lizard
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Reptilia
- Order
- Squamata
- Family
- Amphisbaenidae
- Genus
- Monopeltis
- Extinction status
- Not supplied by this source
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classReptilia Laurenti, 1768
- orderSquamata Oppel, 1811
- suborderAmphisbaenia
- familyAmphisbaenidae
- genusMonopeltis
- speciesMonopeltis capensis Smith, 1848
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Monopeltis. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Anchieta's Worm-LizardMonopeltis anchietae (Bocage, 1873) | AmphisbaenidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| De Coster's Worm-LizardMonopeltis decosteri Boulenger, 1910 | AmphisbaenidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Dusky Spade-snouted Worm LizardMonopeltis infuscata Broadley, 1997 | AmphisbaenidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Gaboon Worm LizardMonopeltis jugularis Peters, 1880 | AmphisbaenidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Kalahari Worm LizardMonopeltis leonhardi Werner, 1910 | AmphisbaenidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Slender Spade-snouted Worm LizardMonopeltis sphenorhynchus (Peters, 1879) | AmphisbaenidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Carved Worm LizardMonopeltis scalper (Günther, 1876) | AmphisbaenidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Maurice’s Slender Worm LizardMonopeltis mauricei Parker, 1935 | AmphisbaenidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Lualaba Worm LizardMonopeltis adercae de Witte, 1953 | AmphisbaenidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Helmeted Worm LizardMonopeltis galeata (Hallowell, 1852) | AmphisbaenidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Western Congo Worm LizardMonopeltis guentheri Boulenger, 1885 | AmphisbaenidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Kabinda Worm LizardMonopeltis kabindae de Witte & Laurent, 1942 | AmphisbaenidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Monopeltis decosteri Boulenger, 1910 Boulenger, 1910 | ambiguous synonym |
Documented distribution
Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://reptile-database.reptarium.cz/species?genus=Monopeltis&species=capensis Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:448HB. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.