Leposternon microcephalum
Silhouette: SeismicShrimp · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~30%
Leposternon microcephalum, also known commonly as the smallhead worm lizard, is a species of amphisbaenian in the family Amphisbaenidae in the reptilian order Squamata. The species is endemic to South America. L. microcephalum is found in southern Brazil, Bolivia, Paraguay, Uruguay, and northern Argentina. It occurs in the Itatiaia National Park between Rio de Janeiro and Minas Gerais in Brazil.
Amphisbaenians have few predators due to their fossorial habits, powerful bite, and defensive tactics. However, some snakes have been found feeding on amphisbaenians including L. microcephalum. L. microcephalum is oviparous.
Boulenger GA (1885). Catalogue of the Lizards in The British Museum (Natural History). Second Edition. Volume II.... Amphisbænidæ. London: Trustees of the British Museum (Natural History). (Taylor and Francis, printers). xiii + 497 pp. + Plates I-XXIV. (Lepidosternon microcephalum, p. 462).
Cacciali P, Scott NJ, Ortíz ALA, Fitzgerald LA, Smith P (2016). "The Reptiles of Paraguay: Literature, Distribution, and an Annotated Taxonomic Checklist". Museum of Southwestern Biology, University... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|
More parks will be added in future updates.
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | São Paulo | 🇧🇷 Brazil |
No species of the same family or order lives in São Paulo, so these are its closest relatives here: other reptiles.
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Smallhead Worm Lizard sighting in São Paulo on a given day, based on 11 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 16th most-seen of the 23 reptiles we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 30%, if each day is a fresh chance.
April and September
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Smallhead Worm Lizard in São Paulo on a given day, against under 5% in May–August and October–March, the lowest months.
Between 9 am and noon
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Smallhead Worm Lizard sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Only São Paulo, in our data
São Paulo is the only city on Wallace's Line with enough records to rate Smallhead Worm Lizard sightings: under 5% of wildlife watchers there report one on a given day.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Smallhead Worm Lizard is recorded against all the reptiles logged in São Paulo (11 verified sightings), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
