; order Squamata, suborder Sauria)
A family of subterranean lizards that have a small, wedge-shaped head, adapted for digging. The body is cylindrical, with loose skin and rings of scales. The tail is short. Worm lizards are generally limbless, but well-developed fore limbs are present in Bipes, found in Mexico, and are used to scratch a cavity prior to tunnelling, while the wedge-shaped head compacts the soil as the lizard burrows. Eyes and ears lie beneath the skin. There are about 130 species, found in America, the Mediterranean region, and Africa.