Studies on Amphisbaenids (Amphisbaenia, Reptilia). 1. A Taxonomic Revision of the Trogonophinae, and a Functional Interpretation of the Amphisbaenid Adaptive Pattern.

Self Published, May, 1960.. Paperbound . BINDING/CONDITION: plain paper covers with text; a few brief ink notes on the front cover, otherwise in Good condition.. about 10.5 inches tall by 7.75 inches wide . Bibliography. Description: Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History, Volume 119, Article 3; pagination for this article runs from page 133 to 204. 32 figure illustrations. From the author's introduction: ''The Acrodont Amphisbaenids or Trogonophinae, form a small group of highly modified species apparently adapted for subterranean existence in arid regions. Four genera presently occupy discrete ranges in the region between northern Africa and Persia. The ecology of collectors has made most of the species excessively rare in museums. In 1954 the Carnegie Museum received a series of five specimens of a form that had been omitted from the last revision of the Amphisbaenia. Detailed examination of this form focused my interest on the group. Beyond the need for taxonomic analysis, it proved to be of interest to take a closer look at some of the fundamental adaptive requirements and their functional solutions by these species. It was hoped that analysis might lead to a better understanding of the specific modifications of the several lines. Because it has thus far proved impossible to obtain any live trogonophines, the second half of the present paper had to be based in large part on the pleurodont Floridian species Rhineura floridana, and the results extrapolated. The analysis presented in the second section thus forms more of a Fragestellung than a solution of the various problem encountered by burrowing animals.''