Superhuman lizards: Like worms that grow in their hands, their whole lives are buried in the ground without fear of hunger

The Baja California Peninsula is a narrow strip of land separated from the American continent about 5.3 million years ago.

Most of Baja California's land is desert, divided into four main areas, the San Felipe Desert, the Central Coast Desert, the Vizcaíno Desert and the Magdalena Plain Desert.

Barren but unique

On the outside, Baja California is very deserted and barren. Most of 143,390km ² of its area is dry desert sand, stumped with stumped trees, sunburn. It is very difficult to have a few clusters of cacti, dotted with three fresh green dots in the hot sun.

The majority of 143,390km2 of Baja California area is dry desert sand, stumped with a scanty bush.

And in the middle of that desert there is a strange animal with a snake-like appearance but . it has legs. They are called Bipes biporus , or Bipes or worms.

Basically, Bipes is a branch of the Amphisbaenia family, the reptile subspecies characterized by the shrinking limbs. In the world, there are only 4 branches of Amphisbaenia that still have legs. Bipes are one of them. They are often discovered in Baja California.

The worm lizard.

Despite being an endemic animal of Baja California, it is not so great that the species is on the brink of extinction, but Bipes is still extremely difficult to meet. For the rest of their lives, they sheltered in the cave. Unless flooded, this creature absolutely does not risk sticking its head out. The desert sometimes flooded.

 

The eyes are useless but the claws are great

Unlike most of the branches of the Amphisbaenia house that were not legless, with eyes, Bipes had both eyes and legs. However, their eyes are also "just for scene".

Bipes' eyes were tiny, pale black, looking like a small dot drawn with a pencil. Perhaps because the eyes look more like moles than the pupils, it is called a mole lizard.

 

In fact, the lizard's eyes are not blind, but it is nothing. For the rest of his life, the owner of his house has been searching in the dark ground for a long time, sniffing for food with his tongue like every other reptile, so he does not use his eyes. So they have as well as not.

In contrast, a pair of anterior limbs with 10 strong, sharp claws is especially helpful. Bipes have pink skin, which is segmented similar to earthworms. They move by shrinking these segments. In the ground, they used their strong, hard-working front legs to burrow the earth. The hind legs, probably because they are not needed, have long been consumed.

Bipes have pink skin, which is segmented similar to earthworms.

Bipes with bodies 18-24cm long but only "fat" have 6-7mm. They do not necessarily have to burrow, but they are required to make long nests.

Search for food in the ground: It's easy to be safe again

Often a Bipes can live 1-2 years. They are carnivorous, preferring to eat ants, termites, insects, larvae, earthworms, etc. in general, all of which are smaller in size.

The advantage is that underground has all this lizard needs. While their ground-eating relatives were worried about escaping, Bipes was absolutely safe. Thanks to the tricky, complicated cave and long body, they all need to "test" a piece of the tail to survive.

Bipes are egg-laying, and during the breeding season the female will lay 1-4 eggs.

Thanks to hiding in the deep caves, they avoid the prey of predators like most lizards

In fact, it is difficult for Bipes to catch ants or termites on the ground, because the prey is fast and they are slow. But when underground, Bipes is "speed king". Originally, desert sandy soil was always dry and friable, unable to make the first pair of claws hard. Using paddle-like feet, Mexican mole lizards "swim" in the soil easily.

In the morning, when the weather is still cool, they "float" near the surface. The sun has just got fierce, they have rushed down. Sometimes, they also hide under tree roots or log sections. The only thing is, anyway, they make sure they don't expose themselves to the outdoors.

There are still many mysteries

Bipes are egg-laying species. In the breeding season, usually fall in the middle of the summer, the female will lay 1-4 eggs and hatch after about 2 months. Of course, the whole process goes on underground.

But how the worm lizard is attracted to each other, mating is not yet observed by researchers.

In addition, they have not identified the scope of residence and the habit of choosing the survival location of this species. Even if they migrate, and yes, for whatever reason, it is still a mystery.

With Bipes, hiding in the ground is a great survival tactic. But for researchers, their whole life without going out of the cave is a discovery challenge that is not easy to open.