Rhineura hatcherii Baur 1893 (worm lizard)

Reptilia - Squamata - Rhineuridae

Synonyms: Gilmoreia attenuatus Taylor 1951, Platyrhachis coloradoensis Cope 1873, Pseudorhineura minuta Gilmore 1938, Rhineura amblyceps Taylor 1951, Rhineura attenuatus Taylor 1951, Rhineura coloradoensis Cope 1873, Rhineura hibbardi Taylor 1951, Rhineura minutus Gilmore 1938, Rhineura sternbergii Walker 1932, Rhineura wilsoni Taylor 1951

Full reference: G. Baur. 1893. The discovery of Miocene amphisbaenians. The American Naturalist 27(323):998-999

Belongs to Rhineura according to D. Maddox and W. P. Wall 1998

See also Baur 1893, Cope 1873, Gilmore 1928, Gilmore 1938, Hay 1902, Hay 1930, Sullivan and Holman 1996, Taylor 1951 and Yatkola 1976

Sister taxa: Rhineura floridana, Rhineura marslandensis, Rhineura sepultura

Type specimens:

  • Rhineura hatcherii: PU 11389, a skull (articulated skull and lower jaws). Its type locality is Battle Spring Draw (Lower Nodular Zone), which is in an Orellan terrestrial horizon in the Brule Formation of South Dakota.
  • Rhineura amblyceps: KUVP No. 7649, a partial skull (basal portion of skull). Its type locality is Cedar Creek (Lower), which is in an Orellan terrestrial horizon in the Brule Formation of Colorado.
  • Rhineura attenuatus: USNM 16308, a partial skull.
  • Rhineura coloradoensis: AMNH No. 1607, a set of vertebrae. Its type locality is Horsetail Creek, which is in a Chadronian terrestrial horizon in the White River Formation of Colorado.
  • Rhineura hibbardi: Univ. Michigan Mus. Paleont. No. 25431 (partial skull with lower jaws). Its type locality is Smith Ranch, which is in an Orellan terrestrial horizon in the Brule Formation of Colorado.
  • Rhineura minutus: USNM 12158 (skull, lower jaws, 23 articulated vertebrae and a few incomplete ribs). Its type locality is Small badland area bisected by US20, 8 miles east of Douglas, which is in an Orellan terrestrial horizon in the Brule Formation of Wyoming.
  • Rhineura sternbergii: Walker type (no cat. no.), a skull (skull and lower jaws). Its type locality is Small badland area bisected by US20, 8 miles east of Douglas, which is in an Orellan terrestrial horizon in the Brule Formation of Wyoming.
  • Rhineura wilsoni: KUVP No. 7651, a partial skull (nearly complete skull lacking squamosal, quadrate, columella, extracolumella, and entire lower jaws). Its type locality is Cedar Creek (Lower), which is in an Orellan terrestrial horizon in the Brule Formation of Colorado.

Ecology: fossorial insectivore

Distribution:

• Oligocene of United States (7: Colorado, Nebraska, South Dakota, Wyoming collections)

• Eocene of United States (1: Colorado)

Total: 8 collections including 13 occurrences

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Specimen images are retrieved through the ePANDDA API.


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