Amphisbaena
- noun
- /ˌæmfɪsˈbiːnə/
- Specialized
:
amfisbaena
- The amphisbaena is a fascinating creature that burrows underground with its limbless body.
Examples
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Scientists study the amphisbaena to understand the evolution of legless lizards.
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In the desert, I spotted an amphisbaena slithering through the sand.
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And I am Amphisbaena.
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An amphisbaena, leathery brown, long harmless local snakes, asps in jars.
Fiction book (1998)
Synonyms
A group of legless burrowing lizards that look like worms
A group of legless reptiles that live underground and look like worms
A group of legless lizards that live underground
Compounds
Surface Forms
Etymology
Amphisbaena comes from Greek parts amphi- ('both') and bainein ('to go') and was the name of a snake in an old Greek story that had a head at each end and could 'go both ways'. So the modern animal is a limbless, worm-like reptile that lives underground and was named for that 'go both ways' idea, and the amphi- part is the same 'both' you see in amphibian.
