Zygaspis ferox BROADLEY & BROADLEY, 1997
Can you confirm these amateur observations of Zygaspis ferox?
Zygaspis ferox
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| Higher Taxa | Amphisbaenidae, Amphisbaenia, Lacertoidea, Sauria, Squamata (lizards) |
| Subspecies | |
| Common Names | |
| Synonym | Zygaspis ferox BROADLEY & BROADLEY 1997 Amphisbaena quadrifrons capensis LOVERIDGE 1941: 387 (part.) Amphisbaena quadrifrons capensis — FITZSIMONS 1943: 376 (part.) Zygaspis quadrifrons SAIFF 1970: 113 (part.) Zygaspis ferox — GANS 2005: 38 Zygaspis ferox — CONRADIE et al. 2019 |
| Distribution | Zimbabwe (Chimanimani and Chipinge Districts, Deysbrook Farm) Type locality: Silverstreams Estate, Chimanimani District, Zimbabwe. |
| Reproduction | oviparous |
| Types | Holotype: NMZB UM 8974, Paratype: PEM R10369 (formerly AMG 7764) |
| Diagnosis | Diagnosis. The thing that first drew attention to this taxon was its large size and aggressive behaviour. This is reflected in its relatively massive skull, laterally expanded posteriorly and with humps on the fronto-parietal sutures and midway along the well developed saggital crest. It has lower counts of body and caudal annuli than adjacent populations of Z. quadrifrons and it differs from Z. nigra and the Z. violacea group in always having six or seven shields in the temporal region. It differs from Z. kafuensis in lacking a blind nasal sulcus and in having 34-40 segments in a midbody annulus rather than 24-36, Z. dolichomenta has only 28-32. In the latter species the tail represents more than 15% of total length, whereas it is less than 15% in Z. ferox. (BROADLEY & BROADLEY 1997) |
| Comment | |
| Etymology | Named after the Latin “ferox” = fierce, referring to the agressive behaviour of this animal when handled. |
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