Blanus – Worm lizards

At first glance, these creatures look more like giant earthworms than reptiles, with their long, cylindrical, pinkish or purplish bodies and shiny, segmented-looking scales. But despite their name, they are not worms at all—they are legless reptiles belonging to the order Amphisbaenia, a little-known branch of the lizard family tree. This odd appearance and underground lifestyle have made them mysterious and rarely seen, even in places where they are relatively common.

Members of the genus Blanus are found in southern Europe (Spain, Portugal, Italy, Greece) and North Africa, usually living in warm, dry habitats with loose soil. They are fossorial specialists, meaning they spend almost their entire lives underground, burrowing through soil and leaf litter. Their bodies are perfectly adapted for this lifestyle: smooth scales for sliding through soil, a blunt, shovel-shaped head for digging, and a short, stubby tail that can even break off if grabbed by a predator. Unlike snakes, which rely heavily on vision, worm lizards have tiny, reduced eyes covered by scales, functioning only to sense light and dark. Their sense of touch and smell are far more important for navigating their underground world.

What really makes Blanus fascinating is its evolutionary story. Amphisbaenians like these are an ancient group of reptiles that diverged from other lizards millions of years ago, developing their unique wormlike body plan independently of snakes. This is a great example of convergent evolution: both snakes and worm lizards lost their limbs and became elongated, but for different ecological reasons—snakes for predation and mobility, Blanus for burrowing.

Despite looking so alien, they are true lizards, closer to geckos than to snakes. Farmers sometimes find them while plowing fields and mistake them for worms, yet they’re harmless and even beneficial by eating soil pests.