This month marks Carl Linnaeus' 300th birthday and biology textbooks still look much the way he imagined they should. Linnaeus is the father of the ranking system of classifying the living world. You might remember kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, species from the back of your hand in 9th grade biology class. Indeed, this system has stood up surprisingly well for almost two and a half centuries despite revolutionary advances in other scientific fields like medicine, where we now know that flu is not caused by a small gnome living in your stomach. Unfortunately for Linnaeus' legacy, ranking is finally under attack by that most pesky of new fields: DNA science. The new system, called cladistics, would compare species based on genetic similarity and expand and refine groups when new organisms were identified. It's all terribly uncouth if you ask us.
One mammoth example of an organism improperly classified by Linnaeus' ranking system is the Amphisbaenia or wormlizard, a creature resembling an earthworm but more closely related to lizards.
Once you go wormlizard... (photo credit Adeline Goss)
Amphibsaenia are burrowing creatures whose behavior is poorly understood. They move through the earth by expanding and contracting their segments in much the same way as earthworms. They have no outer ears and their eyes are deeply recessed and covered with skin and scales. Although there is one species in North America and they have been found in Europe, the majority of Amphibsaenia live in South America and Africa, where terrifying beasties seem to prefer to reside.
Inspiration for Tremors?
Zooillogix
Don't Stick Your Fingers in the Cage
Video of the Week
Kunekune Pigs
Bleiman Brothers Profile
In the wild, Andrew feeds on fish, sponges, small crustaceans, nematode worms and protozoans.
Benny's diet is very specialized, consisting mainly of the interior of Ramy nuts, nectar from the Traveller's Palm tree, some fungi and insect grubs. He is also known to raid coconut plantations, and has been seen eating lychees and mangoes, which are also plantation crops.
Search
Recent Posts
- Julia + Hawaii + Your Friends = Good Times + Great Oldies
- Turtles Are Not Pure Evil
- Zombies schmombies. Let's talk parasites.
- So, you think you're smart?
- Hot Molting Action
- Spectacular Deep Sea Squid Footage
- Meth Snails Feel the Need... the Need Not to Extend Their Breathing Tubes Lest They Get Poked
- Time-lapse photography is the best!
- Life cycle / Cycle of life
- Death by Ass Eel (not) Debunked
Recent Comments
- سعودي كول 6666 on Monster Toad Captured!
- İnsan Kaynakları on Thousands of New Species Discovered on Tiny Island
- سعودي انحراف on Winter (the Dolphin) Swims with Prosthetic Flipper
- سعودي انحراف on Winter (the Dolphin) Swims with Prosthetic Flipper
- سعودي انحراف on Winter (the Dolphin) Swims with Prosthetic Flipper
- Tomas on Winter (the Dolphin) Swims with Prosthetic Flipper
- folklore on Hookworms Are Nature's Claritin
- Angel on Winter (the Dolphin) Swims with Prosthetic Flipper
- Maria on Winter (the Dolphin) Swims with Prosthetic Flipper
- patty on Winter (the Dolphin) Swims with Prosthetic Flipper
Archives
- September 2010
- July 2010
- June 2010
- May 2010
- April 2010
- March 2010
- February 2010
- January 2010
- December 2009
- November 2009
- October 2009
- September 2009
- August 2009
- July 2009
- June 2009
- May 2009
- April 2009
- March 2009
- February 2009
- January 2009
- December 2008
- November 2008
- October 2008
- September 2008
- August 2008
- July 2008
- June 2008
- May 2008
- April 2008
- March 2008
- February 2008
- January 2008
- December 2007
- November 2007
- October 2007
- September 2007
- August 2007
- July 2007
- June 2007
- May 2007
- April 2007
- March 2007
Blogroll
Look How Important We Are
View blog authority
Read the super-informative Interview with the Bleiman Brothers
World's Largest Zoo and Shot Glass Collection
Now accepting donations in exchange for recognition and fame on Zooillogix!
Currently Featured: Seattle Aquarium from Jason Brunet of JeffTheFish.com - the official website of baby rats!
The List:
Adventure Aquarium
Aquarium of the Bay
Baton Rouge Zoo
Birch Aquarium at Scripps
Bronx Zoo
Brookfield Zoo
Cincinnati Zoo
Cleveland Metroparks Zoo
Florida Aquarium
Georgia Aquarium
Honolulu Zoo
Houston Aquarium
Knoxville Zoo
Lincoln Park Zoo
Los Angeles Zoo
Louisville Zoo
Maritime Center in Norwalk, CT
Milwaukee Zoo
Monterey Bay Aquarium
Mystic Aquarium
National Aquarium
New England Aquarium
New York Aquarium
Newport Aquarium
North Carolina Aquarium
North Carolina Zoological Society
Oakland Zoo
Oregon Coast Aquarium
Philadelphia Zoo
Pittsburgh Zoo
Rio Grande Zoo
Ripley's Aquarium of the Smokies
San Antonio Zoo
San Diego Zoo
San Francisco Zoo
Santa Barbara Zoo
Sea World San Diego
Seattle Aquarium
Shedd Aquarium
Smithsonian National Zoo
South Carolina Aquarium
Tennessee Aquarium
Two Oceans Aquarium, Cape Town, SA
Vancouver Aquarium
Feed me Seymour!
« Thylacine: the Tasmanian Tiger | Main | Beasts from the Depths »
Kingdom, Phylum, Class… Meet Giant Reptilian Worm Monster
Category: Lizard • amphisbaenia • worm
Posted on: May 22, 2007 3:26 PM, by ableiman
TrackBacks
TrackBack URL for this entry: http://scienceblogs.com/mt/pings/48411
Comments
i found something similar only its about 8 inches in length and its head is flatter on the top.
A point I think I should bring up as well is the one i found is very soft skinned and kinda transparent.
I just want to know what it is i found.
Posted by: Kendra | December 23, 2007 1:32 AM
to my understanding they are amphibians, the group name is caecilian
Posted by: Harrison | January 25, 2011 4:52 AM
i love to rap dats all yu need to know about me
Posted by: T-Savage | February 24, 2011 11:28 AM