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Zygaspis quadrifrons (PETERS, 1862)

IUCN Red List - Zygaspis quadrifrons - Least Concern, LC
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Higher TaxaAmphisbaenidae, Amphisbaenia, Lacertoidea, Sauria, Squamata (lizards)
Subspecies 
Common NamesE: Kalahari Dwarf Worm Lizard, Kalahari Round-snouted Worm Lizard 
SynonymAmphisbaena quadrifrons PETERS 1862: 25
Amphisbaena capensis THOMINOT 1887
Amphisbaena ambuellensis MONARD 1931
Amphisbaena ambuellensis — MONARD 1937: 65
Amphisbaena quadrifrons quadrifrons — LOVERIDGE 1941: 385
Zygaspis quadrifrons capensis — LOVERIDGE 1941
Amphisbaena quadrifrons katangae WITTE & LAURENT 1942: 81
Zygaspis quadrifrons capensis — FITZSIMONS 1943
Amphisbaena quadrifrons — LAURENT 1947
Shrevea quadrifrons — VANZOLINI 1951
Zygaspis quadrifrons — VANZOLINI 1953
Amphisbaena quadrifrons capensis — WITTE 1954: 986
Amphisbaena quadrifrons capensis — BROADLEY 1962
Zygaspis quadrifrons — AUERBACH 1987: 138
Zygaspis quadrifrons — BROADLEY 1998
Zygaspis quadrifrons — GANS 2005: 39
Zygaspis quadrifrons — BATES et al. 2014: 156
Zygaspis quadrifrons — PIETERSEN et al. 2021
Zygaspis quadrifrons — STANDER 2023: 73 
DistributionAngola, N Namibia, W Botswana, Democratic Republic of the Congo (Zaire), Republic of South Africa (Cape Province), S Mozambique, Zambia, Zimbabwe

Type locality: Neu Barmen [= Otjimbingue, Namibia], by implication.

ambuellensis: Type locality: Chimporo (= Techimpolo) and Caquindo, Angola.

capensis: Type locality: ‘‘Lac Ngami’’.  
Reproductionoviparous 
TypesSyntypes: ZMB 4202-4
Syntypes: LCFM (two specimens, unnumbered); NMBA 13330 [ambuellensis]
Holotype: MNHN 431 [capensis]
Holotype: RMCA (= MRAC = RGMC) 7233 [katangae] 
DiagnosisUnfortunately we had to temporarily remove additional information as this was scraped by multiple AI companies who sell that data to their customers. These details, e.g. detailed descriptions or comparisons (about 4155 characters), are available for collaborators and contributors. Please contact us for details. 
CommentSynonymy and subspecies mainly after GANS 1967. BROADLEY & BROADLEY 1997 synonymized capensis with Z. quadrifrons and elevated Z. q. dolichomenta to full species status.

Type Species: Amphisbaena quadrifrons is the type species of the genus Zygaspis COPE 1885 and the type species of the genus Shrevea VANZOLINI 1951; Vanzolini included quadrifrons and dolichomenta in Shrevea.

Reference images: see Uetz et al. 2024 for high-resolution reference images for this species. 
EtymologyNamed after Latin quadri, square + Latin frons, forehead, brow; face; look; front; fore part of anything ["...Zwei viereckige Nasorostralia, welche mit ihren inneren Rändern an einander stolsen…"].

The genus was named after Greek zygos (ζυγός), yoke or paired + Greek aspis (ἀσπίς), shield. [“…A supraorbital plate; two frontonasals…”]. 
References
  • Auerbach, R.D. 1987. The Amphibians and Reptiles of Botswana. Mokwepa Consultants, Botswana, 295 pp.
  • Baptista NL, António T, Branch WR. 2019. The herpetofauna of Bicuar National Park and surroundings, southwestern Angola: a preliminary checklist. Amphibian & Reptile Conservation 13(2) [Special Section]: 96–130 (e203) - get paper here
  • Bates, M.F.; Branch, W.R., Bauer, A.M.; Burger, M., Marais, J.; Alexander, G.J. & de Villliers, M.S. (eds.) 2014. Atlas and Red List of the Reptiles of South Africa, Lesotho, and Swaziland. Suricata 1. South African National Biodiversity Institute, Pretoria, 512 pp.
  • Bates, Michael F. 2018. Catalogue of reptiles from Mozambique in the collection of the National Museum, Bloemfontein, South Africa. Indago 34 (2): 135–147
  • Bauer, A.M.; Günther,R. & Klipfel,M. 1995. The herpetological contributions of Wilhelm C.H. Peters (1815-1883). SSAR Facsimile Reprints in Herpetology, 714 pp.
  • BOURQUIN, O. & V. GRUENER 2017. A NOTE ON THE HERPETOFAUNA OF MODISA CAMP (BOTSWANA) AND ITS SURROUNDINGS. African Herp News (64): 9-26 - get paper here
  • Branch, William R. 1993. A Photographic Guide to Snakes and Other Reptiles of Southern Africa. Cape Town: Struik Publishers, 144 S.
  • Broadley D G; Gans C 1978. Distribution, variation, and systematic status of Zygaspis violacea (Peters) (Amphisbaenia: Reptilia) endemic to southeastern Africa. Annals of the Carnegie Museum 47 (14) : 319-334 - get paper here
  • Broadley, D.G. 1962. On some reptile collections from the North-Western and North-Eastern Districts of Southern Rhodesia 1958-1961, with descriptions of four new lizards. Occ. Pap. Nat. Mus. South. Rhodesia 26 (B): 787-843
  • Broadley, D.G. 1991. The Herpetofauna of Northern Mwinilunga Distr., Northw. Zambia. Arnoldia Zimbabwe 9 (37): 519-538
  • Broadley, D.G. 1998. The reptilian fauna of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (Congo-Kinshasa). In: Schmidt, K.P. and Noble, G.K., Contributions to the Herpetology of the Belgian Congo... [reprint of the 1919 and 1923 papers]. SSAR Facsimile reprints in Herpetology, 780 pp.
  • Broadley, D.G. & Gans,C. 1975. Additional records for Zygaspis niger and Z. quadrifrons. Herpetological Review 6 (1): 21 - get paper here
  • Broadley, Donald G. & Broadley, Sheila 1997. A revision of the African genus Zygaspis Cope (Reptilia: Amphisbaenia). Syntarsus 4: 1-24
  • Broadley, Donald G. and F. P. D. Cotterill. 2004. The reptiles of southeast Katanga, an overlooked 'hot spot'. [Congo]. African Journal of Herpetology 53 (1): 35-61. - get paper here
  • Brygoo, E. R. 1990. Les types d'Amphisbaenidés, Pygopodidés, Xantusiidés (Reptiles, Sauriens) du Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle - Catalogue critique. Bull. Mus. Nat. Hist. Nat. 12 (ser. 4) A (3-4), suppl.: 3-18
  • Butler, B O; Ceríaco, L M P; Marques, M P; Bandeira, S; Júlio, T; Heinicke, M P & Bauer, A M; 2019. Herpetological survey of Huíla Province, Southwest Angola, including first records of Bicuar National Park. Herpetological Review 50 (2): 225-240 - get paper here
  • Conradie W and Branch WR. 2016. The herpetofauna of the Cubango, Cuito, and lower Cuando river catchments of south-eastern Angola. Amphibian & Reptile Conservation 10 (2) [Special Section]: 6–36 - get paper here
  • Conradie W, Keates C, Verburgt L, Baptista NL, Harvey J, Júlio T, Neef G. 2022. Contributions to the herpetofauna of the Angolan Okavango-Cuando-Zambezi River drainages. Part 2: Lizards (Sauria), chelonians, and crocodiles. Amphibian & Reptile Conservation 16(2): 181–214 (e322) - get paper here
  • CONRADIE, W., DOUCETTE-RIISE, S., VANHOOYDONCK, B., ENGELBRECHT, H., MEASEY, G.J., & TOLLEY, K. 2011. Herpetological survey of Rooipoort Nature Reserve, Northern Cape, South Africa. African Herp News (53): 35-41 - get paper here
  • COSTA, HENRIQUE, JOSHUA MATA & LUIS CERIACO. 2022. First record of an amphisbaenian, a Kalahari Dwarf Wormlizard, Zygaspis quadrifrons (Amphisbaenia), as prey of Sundevall’s Writhing Skink, Mochlus sundevallii (Squamata: Scincidae). Reptiles & Amphibians 29(1): 117–118. - get paper here
  • FitzSimons, V.F. 1943. The lizards of South Africa. Transvaal Museum Memoir No.1 (Pretoria), 528 pp.
  • Gans, C. 2005. CHECKLIST AND BIBLIOGRAPHY OF THE AMPHISBAENIA OF THE WORLD. Bull. Am. Mus. Nat. Hist. 289: 1-130 - get paper here
  • Gans, C., G.C. Huang & H.F. Clark 1967. The Diphyletism of the Amphisbaenia (Reptilia): A Re-Evaluation Based upon Chromosome Counts Copeia 1967 (2): 485-487. - get paper here
  • Gans, Carl; Bauer, Aaron M.;Günther, Rainer 1997. An annotated type catalogue of the amphisbaenians (Reptilia: Squamata: Amphisbaenia) in the Zoological Museum, Berlin. Mitt. Zool. Mus. Berlin 73 (1): 41-50 - get paper here
  • Herrmann, H.-W.; W.R. Branch 2013. Fifty years of herpetological research in the Namib Desert and Namibia with an updated and annotated species checklist. Journal of Arid Environments 93: 94–115 - get paper here
  • LANGNER, C. 2019. Die geheimnisvollen Doppelschleichen (Amphisbaenia) - ein Leben im Untergrund Elaphe 2019 (6): 14-21
  • Laurent, R.F. 1947. Notes sur les Amphisbaenidae d'Afrique. Revue. Zool. Bot. Afr. Vol. 40: 52-63
  • Loveridge, ARTHUR 1941. Revision of the African lizards of the family Amphisbaenidae. Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool. Harvard 87: 353-451. - get paper here
  • Marques, Mariana P.; Luis M. P. Ceríaco , David C. Blackburn , and Aaron M. Bauer 2018. Diversity and Distribution of the Amphibians and Terrestrial Reptiles of Angola -- Atlas of Historical and Bibliographic Records (1840–2017). Proc. Cal. Acad. Sci. (Ser. 4) 65: 1-501 (Supplement II)
  • Measey, John & Krystal A. Tolley 2013. A molecular phylogeny for sub-Saharan amphisbaenians. African Journal of Herpetology 62 (2): 100-108 - get paper here
  • Monard, ALBERT 1931. Mission scientifique Suisse dans l'Angola. Résultats scientifiques. Reptiles. Bull. Soc. Neuchâtel Sci. Nat., vol. 33, pp. 89-111. [1930] - get paper here
  • Monard, ALBERT 1937. Contribution à l'herpétologie d'Angola. Arq. Mus. Bocage, Lisbon 8:19-153.
  • Peters,W.C.H. 1862. Übersicht einiger von dem , durch seine afrikanische Sprachforschungen, rühmlichst bekannten, Hrn. Missionär C.H. Hahn bei Neu-Barmen, im Hererolande, and der Westküste von Afrika, im 21˚ südl. Br. gesammelten Amphibien, nebst Beschreibungen der neuen Arten. Monatsber. Akad. Wiss. Berlin 1862: 15-26 - get paper here
  • Pienaar, Uys de Villiers 1978. The Reptile Fauna of the Kruger National Park. Pretoria: National Parks Board of South Africa, i-vii, 222 S.
  • Pietersen DW, Pietersen EW, Conradie W. 2017. Preliminary herpetological survey of Ngonye Falls and surrounding regions in south-western Zambia. Amphibian & Reptile Conservation 11(1) [Special Section]: 24–43 (e148 - get paper here
  • Pietersen, Darren, Verburgt, Luke & Davies, John 2021. Snakes and other reptiles of Zambia and Malawi. Struik Nature / Penguin Random House South Africa, 376 pp., ISBN 9781775847373
  • Saiff, E. I. 1970. Geographical variation in the genus Zygaspis (Amphisbaenia: Reptilia). Herpetologica 26 (1): 86-119 - get paper here
  • Stander, R.I. 2023. The Reptiles of the Limpopo Province and Kruger National Park. Herp Nomad, Polokwane, South Africa, 367 pp. - get paper here
  • Thominot, A. 1887. Description de trois espèces nouvelles d'Anolis et d'un amphisbaenien. Bull. Soc. Philom. Paris (7) 11 (4): 182-190 - get paper here
  • Tolley, K.A., Conradie, W., Pietersen, D.W., Weeber, J., Burger, M. & Alexander, G.J. (eds) 2023. Conservation status of the reptiles of South Africa, Eswatini and Lesotho. Suricata 10. South African National Biodiversity Institute, Pretoria
  • Uetz, P.H.; Patel, M.; Gbadamosi, Z.; Nguyen, A.; Shoope, S. 2024. A Reference Database of Reptile Images. Taxonomy 4: 723–732 - get paper here
  • Vanzolini, P. E. 1953. Sobre os nomes Zygaspis Cope e Shrevea Vanzolini. Pap. Avul. Zool., Sao Paulo 11: 46-47 - get paper here
  • Vanzolini, P.E. 1951. A systematic arrangement of the family Amphibaenidae (Sauria). Herpetologica 7: 113-123 - get paper here
  • Witte, G. F. de 1933. Reptiles récoltés au Conge Belge par le Dr. H. Schouteden et par M. G.-F. Witte. Ann. Mus. Conge belge Zool. Ser. 1 Tome III: 53-100.
  • Witte, G. F. de 1954. Revision des Amphisbaenidae du Congo Belge. Volume Jubilaire Victor Von Straelen. Brussels, vol. 2, pp. 981-1010.
  • Witte, G. F. de AND RAYMOND F. LAURENT 1942. Contribution à la systématique de Amphisbaenidae du Congo belge. Rev. Zool. Bot. Africaine 36 (1): 67-86.
 
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