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Biodiversity

Papers in Herpetology

Nebraska

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James Davidson Fawcett (1933–2020): Imbibing With The Kiwi., Louis A. Somma Jun 2021

James Davidson Fawcett (1933–2020): Imbibing With The Kiwi., Louis A. Somma

Papers in Herpetology

An obituary and summary of the life of James D. Fawcett (1933-2020), herpetologist and instructor and professor of Biology at University of Nebraska at Omaha 1972-2015. Includes bibliography of his works, list of master's theses chaired, and recollections of former students.


Do Worm Lizards Occur In Nebraska?, Louis A. Somma Jan 1993

Do Worm Lizards Occur In Nebraska?, Louis A. Somma

Papers in Herpetology

Amphisbaenids, or worm lizards, are a small enigmatic suborder of reptiles (containing 4 families; ca. 140 species) within the order Squamata, which include~ the more speciose lizards and snakes (Gans 1986). The name amphisbaenia is derived from the mythical Amphisbaena (Topsell 1608; Aldrovandi 1640), a two-headed beast (one head at each end), whose fantastical description may have been based, in part, upon actual observations of living worm lizards (Druce 1910). While most are limbless and worm-like in appearance, members of the family Bipedidae (containing the single genus Bipes) have two forelimbs located close to the head. This trait, and …