NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Blind Worm Lizard
Amphisbaena caeca Cuvier, 1829
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.
Open encyclopedia reference
Amphisbaena caeca, commonly known as the Puerto Rican worm lizard or blind worm lizard, is a species of worm lizard endemic to Puerto Rico. These animals are vermicular reptiles that live under logs, rocks, and dirt. Other species of Amphisbaenids in the Caribbean include Amphisbaena bakeri, Amphisbaena fenestrata, Amphisbaena schmidti, Amphisbaena xera, and Cadea blanoides.
Amphisbaenids are legless, worm-like reptiles with elongated bodies nearly uniform in diameter. They are covered with ring-like scales similar in appearance to earthworms. They are underground animals, hence the eyes have degenerated to tiny indistinct spots under the rings.
Wikipedia contributors, Amphisbaena caeca; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T08:09:54.534423+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Amphisbaena caeca Cuvier, 1829
- Name authority
- Cuvier, 1829
- Common name
- Blind Worm Lizard
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Reptilia
- Order
- Squamata
- Family
- Amphisbaenidae
- Genus
- Amphisbaena
- 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
- genusAmphisbaena
- speciesAmphisbaena caeca Cuvier, 1829
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Amphisbaena. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Cayemite Short-tailed AmphisbaenaAmphisbaena cayemite Thomas & Hedges, 2006 | AmphisbaenidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Amphisbaena crisae Vanzolini, 1997 | AmphisbaenidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Black-headed Worm LizardAmphisbaena nigricauda Gans, 1966 | AmphisbaenidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Munoa Worm LizardAmphisbaena munoai Klappenbach, 1960 | AmphisbaenidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Amphisbaena arenicola Perez & Borges-Martins, 2019 | AmphisbaenidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Amphisbaena bilabialata (Stimson, 1972) | AmphisbaenidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Amphisbaena hoogmoedi Oliveira, Vaz-Silva, Santos-Jr, Graboski, Teixeira Jr, Dal Vechio & Ribeiro, 2018 | AmphisbaenidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Amphisbaena longinqua Texeira Junior, Dal Vechio, Recoder, Cassimiro, Sena & Rodrigues, 2019 | AmphisbaenidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Amphisbaena metallurga Costa, Resende, Teixeira, Vechio & Clemente, 2015 | AmphisbaenidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Amphisbaena nana Perez & Borges-Martins, 2019 | AmphisbaenidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Amphisbaena elbakyanae Torres-Ramírez, Angarita-Sierra & Vargas-Ramírez, 2021 | AmphisbaenidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
| Amphisbaena carli Pinna, Mendonça, Bocchiglieri & Fernandes, 2010 | AmphisbaenidaeChordata | Accepted speciesExtinction status not supplied |
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=Amphisbaena&species=caeca 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. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
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:D5GX. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.