NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Ridley's Worm Lizard
Amphisbaena ridleyi Boulenger, 1890
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.
geographic distribution of Amphisbaena ridleyi (Native: Brazil (Fernando de Noronha))
compiled by rbrausse with Quantum GIS Map data: Made with Natural Earth. Free vector and raster map data @ naturalearthdata.com. Range data: Mott, T. 2010. Amphisbaena ridleyi. In: IUCN 2012. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2012.2. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 15 March 2013. · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Image sourceProvider-generated thumbnail requested at 800 pixels; no local editing Local WebP display rendition; resized without cropping.
Open encyclopedia reference
Amphisbaena ridleyi, known by the common names Ridley's worm lizard or the Noronha worm lizard, is a species of amphisbaenian in the family Amphisbaenidae. The species is endemic to the island of Fernando de Noronha off the coast of Brazil. It is one of two indigenous reptiles on the island.
Wikipedia contributors, Amphisbaena ridleyi; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T08:57:53.309627+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Amphisbaena ridleyi Boulenger, 1890
- Name authority
- Boulenger, 1890
- Common name
- Ridley's 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 ridleyi Boulenger, 1890
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=ridleyi 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:D5L5. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.