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Reptiles Database
Order Squamata
Suborder Sauria
Infraorder Gekkota
Family Dibamidae (Blind Lizards)
About 9 species of one genus (Dibamus ) and the monotypic genus Anelytropsis form the dibamid family.
Appearance: small limbless lizards (males have small, flaplike hind limbs though, similar to those of pygopodids). They lack external ear openings and their vestigial eyes are covered by a scale. Members of both genera are usually uniformly brownish.The two genera share a large number of derived character states (Greer 1985, Miller 1966, Etheridge 1967, McDowell 1972).
Distribution: The two genera have a disjunct distribution with Anelytropsis occuring in Mexico and Dibamus sp. occuring in rain forests of southeast Asia, Indonesia, the Philippine Islands and western New Guinea.
Habitat: Burrowing in the soil or under rocks of dense forest, semi-arid deciduous brush or open shrubland, pine-oak forest (Anelytropsis); under stones or under rotting logs in rain forests (Dibamus).
Size: 25 cm (Anelytropsis), 22.5 cm (Dibamus) maximimum total length.
Food: unknown according to Greer 1985.
Behaviour: burrowing lifestyle
Reproduction: oviparous with clutch sizes of only one egg.
Related taxa: The relationships of the dibamids to other lizard families is ambiguous (Gasc 1968, Rieppel 1984, Greer 1985) although Greer expressed the opinion that they appear to be most closely related to amphisbaenians.
Consulting expert: Jakob HALLERMANN (Zool. Institute, University of Hamburg, Germany)
List of genera:
References:
Etheridge, R. (1967)
Lizard caudal vertebrae.
Copeia - 1967: 699-721.
Gasc, J.P. (1968)
Contribution a l'osteologie et la myologie de Dibamus
novaeguineae Gray (Sauria, Reptilia). Discussion
systematique.
Ann. Sci. Nat., Zool. (12) 10: 127-150.
Greer, A. E. (1985)
The relationships of the genera Anelytropsis and
Dibamus.
J. Herpetol. 19: 116-156.
McDowell, S. B. (1972)
The evolution of the tongue of snakes and the bearing on snake
origins.
in: T. Dobzansky, M. K. Hecht & W. C. Steere (eds.)
Evolutionary Biology 6. Pp. 191-273., Plenum Press New York.
Miller, M. R. (1966)
The cochlear ducts of Lanthanotus and Anelytropsis
with remarks on the familial relationship between Anelytropsis
and Dibamus.
Occ. Pap. Calif. Acad. Sci. 60: 1-15.
Rieppel, O. (1984)
The cranial morphology of the fossorial lizard genus
Dibamus with a consideration of its phylogenetic
relationships.
J. Zool. London 204: 289-327
Townsend, T.; Larson, A.; Louis, E.; Marcey, J. 2004)
Molecular phylogenetics of Squamata: the position of snakes,
amphisbaenians, and dibamids, and the root of the squamate tree.
Systematic Biology 53: 735-757