Monopeltis anchietae, also known commonly as Anchieta's worm lizard, Anchieta's spade-snouted worm lizard, and the Angolan spade-snouted worm lizard, is a species of amphisbaenian in the family Amphisbaenidae. The species is native to southern Africa.
Etymology The specific name, anchietae, is in honor of Portuguese naturalist José Alberto de Oliveira Anchieta, who was an explorer of Africa.Beolens B, Watkins M, Grayson M (2011). The Eponym Dictionary of Reptiles. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press. xiii + 296 pp. . (Monopeltis anchietae, p. 8).
Geographic range M. anchietae is found in Angola, Botswana, Namibia (including the Caprivi Strip), and Zambia.
Habitat The preferred natural habitat of M. anchietae is savanna, at altitudes of .
Description M. anchietae is reddish brown dorsally, and unpigmented ventrally. The head shields are yellowish tan. Adults usually have a snout-to-vent length (SVL) of . The maximum recorded SVL is .Branch, Bill (2004). Field Guide to Snakes and other Reptiles of Southern Africa. Third Revised edition, Second impression. Sanibel Island, Florida: Ralph Curtis Books. 399 pp. . (Monopeltis anchietae, p. 124 + Plate 41).
Reproduction M. anchietae is viviparous.
References
Further reading Auerbach RD (1987). The Amphibians and Reptiles of Botswana. Gaborone, Botswana: Mokwepa Consultants. 295 pp. . (Monopeltis anchietae, p. 139). Bocage JVB (1873). "Reptiles nouveaux de l'intérieur de Mossamedes ". Jornal de Sciências Mathemáticas Physicas e Naturaes da Academia Real das Sciencias de Lisboa 4: 247–253. ("Lepidosternon (Phractogonus) Anchietae", new species, pp. 247–248, Figures 1–4). (in French). 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. (Monopeltis anchietae, pp. 458–459). Gans C (2005). "Checklist and Bibliography of the Amphisbaenia of the World". Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History (289): 1–130. (Monopeltis anchietae, p. 34).