Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Jun 13, 2026

Blanus

Blanus, also known as worm lizards, are a genus of amphisbaenians found in the Mediterranean region of Europe and North Africa. Like other amphisbaenians, Blanus species are specialized for a subterranean existence, with long, slender bodies, reduced limbs, and rudimentary eyes. Their skulls are powerfully constructed, allowing them to push through soil to create a burrow. Their jaws are well-developed, with large, recurved teeth and a pair of canine-like teeth in the upper jaw.

Last revised
Jun 13, 2026
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≈ 2 min
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Citations
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Wikipedia ↗
Blanus
Iberian worm lizard
(Blanus cinereus)
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Reptilia
Order: Squamata
Clade: Amphisbaenia
Family: Blanidae
Kearney, 2003
Genus: Blanus
Wagler, 18301

Blanus, also known as worm lizards, are a genus of amphisbaenians found in the Mediterranean region of Europe and North Africa.2 Like other amphisbaenians, Blanus species are specialized for a subterranean existence, with long, slender bodies, reduced limbs, and rudimentary eyes. Their skulls are powerfully constructed, allowing them to push through soil to create a burrow. Their jaws are well-developed, with large, recurved teeth and a pair of canine-like teeth in the upper jaw.

Four to seven extant species are currently known. The relationships of Blanus to other worm-lizards are not clear. The genus was formerly included in the Amphisbaenidae. More recent analyses suggest that blanids are more primitive, and are either related to Bipes3 or represent an even more ancient lineage.4

A number of fossils from Europe have been referred either to Blanus or to the Blanidae.5

Species

Evolutionary tree of Blanidae; extinct species denoted with gray lines source ↗

The genus contains the following species:67

Nota bene: A binomial authority in parentheses indicates that the species was originally described in a genus other than Blanus.

References

References

  1. Wagler, J. (1830). Natürliches System der AMPHIBIEN, mit vorangehender Classification der SÄUGTHIERE und VÖGEL. Ein Beitrag zur vergleichenden Zoologie. Munich, Stuttgart, and Tübingen: J.G. Cotta. vi + 354 pp. + one plate. (Blanus, new genus, p. 197). (in German and Latin).
  2. Albert, E.M.; Zardoya, R.; García-París, M. (2007). "Phylogeographical and speciation patterns in subterranean worm lizards of the genus Blanus (Amphisbaenia: Blanidae)". Molecular Ecology. 16 (7): 1519–1531. Bibcode:2007MolEc..16.1519A. doi:10.1111/j.1365-294X.2007.03248.x. PMID 17391273. S2CID 26071914.
  3. Vidal, N.; Azvolinsky, A.; Cruaud, C.; Hedges, S.B. (2007). "Origin of tropical American burrowing reptiles by transatlantic rafting". Biology Letters. 4 (1): 115–118. doi:10.1098/rsbl.2007.0531. PMC 2412945. PMID 18077239.
  4. Kearney, M.; Stuart, B.L. (2004). "Repeated evolution of limblessness and digging heads in worm lizards revealed by DNA from old bones". Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. 271 (1549): 1677–1683. doi:10.1098/rspb.2004.2771. PMC 1691774. PMID 15306287.
  5. Augé, Marc Louis (2012). "Amphisbaenians from the European Eocene: A biogeographical review". Palaeobiodiversity and Palaeoenvironments. 92 (4): 425–443. Bibcode:2012PdPe...92..425A. doi:10.1007/s12549-012-0104-6. S2CID 129023376.
  6. Blanus at the Reptarium.cz Reptile Database. Accessed 18 January 2014.
  7. Blanus at Wikispecies.
Further reading

Further reading

  • Kearney, M. (2003). "Systematics of the Amphisbaenia (Lepidosauria: Squamata) based on morphological evidence from recent and fossil forms". Herpetological Monographs. 17 (1): 1–74. (Blanidae, new family).

Media related to Blanus at Wikimedia Commons