THE CENTER FOR NORTH AMERICAN HERPETOLOGY

Reptilia    Squamata (part)    Anniellidae  

Northern Legless Lizard
Anniella pulchra Gray, 1852

SSAR 9th Edition Comments:
 There are no current SSAR comments for this taxon.

Range maps are based on curated specimens and provided gratis by CNAH.
(Created by Travis W. Taggart; Version: 2023.09.12.20.41.11)
Download GeoJSON polygon range file: - 0.06 MB

Province/State Distribution:
USA: California

First instance(s) of published English names:
Blue Worm-Snake (Aniella pulchra: Yarrow, Henry C. 1882. Check list of North American Reptilia and Batrachia with catalogue of specimens in U. S. National Museum. Bulletin of the United States National Museum (24):1-249); Black Footless Lizard (Anniella nigra: Van Denburgh, John. 1897. The reptiles of the Pacific Coast and Great Basin: An account of the species known to inhabit California, and Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and Nevada. Occasional Papers of the California Academy of Sciences 5():9-236); Silvery Footless Lizard (Anniella pulchra: Van Denburgh, John. 1897. The reptiles of the Pacific Coast and Great Basin: An account of the species known to inhabit California, and Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and Nevada. Occasional Papers of the California Academy of Sciences 5():9-236); Footless Lizard (Anniella pulchra: Schmidt, Karl P. 1953. A Check List of North American Amphibians and Reptiles. 6th Edition. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, Illinois. 280pp.); Anniella (Anniella pulchra: Schmidt, Karl P. 1953. A Check List of North American Amphibians and Reptiles. 6th Edition. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, Illinois. 280pp.); Black Footless Lizard (Anniella pulchra nigra: Schmidt, Karl P. 1953. A Check List of North American Amphibians and Reptiles. 6th Edition. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, Illinois. 280pp.); Black Anniella (Anniella pulchra nigra: Schmidt, Karl P. 1953. A Check List of North American Amphibians and Reptiles. 6th Edition. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, Illinois. 280pp.); Silvery Anniella (Anniella pulchra pulchra: Schmidt, Karl P. 1953. A Check List of North American Amphibians and Reptiles. 6th Edition. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, Illinois. 280pp.);

Taxon Links:

  
Catalog of American Amphibians and Reptiles
  
The Reptile Database
  
NatureServe
  
iNaturalist
  
GenBank
  
USGS - Nonindigenous Aquatic Species Database

Selected References:
1852 Gray, John E. Description of several new genera of reptiles, principally from the collection of H.M.S. Herald. Annual Magazine of Natural History 2(10):437-440
1894 Baur, G. The relationship of the Lacertilian genus Anniella, Gray. Proceedings of the United States National Museum 17(1005):345-351
1905 Van Denburgh, John. The species of the Reptilian genus Anniella, with especial reference to Anniella texana and to variation in Anniella nigra. Proceedings of the California Academy of Science, Series 3 4(2):41-49
1932 Klauber, Laurence M.. Notes on the silvery footless lizard, Anniella pulchra. Copeia 1932(1):4-6
1943 Miller, Charles M. An intergradient population connecting Anniella pulchra pulchra and Anniella pulchra nigra. Copeia 1943(1):2-6
1953 Shaw, Charles E. Anniella pulchra and A. geronimensis, sympatric species. Herpetologica 8(4):167-170
1971 Bezy, Robert L. and John W. Wright. Karyotypic variation and relationships of the California Legless Lizard Anniella pulchra Gray (Reptilia: Anniellidae). Herpetological Review 3(4):71-72
1983 Hunt, Lawrence E. A nomenclatural rearrangement of the genus Anniella (Sauria: Anniellidae). Copeia 1983(1):79-89
1991 Murphy, Robert W. and Hobart M. Smith. Anniella pulchra Gray, 1852 (Reptilia, Squamata): proposed designation of a neotype. Bulletin of Zoological Nomenclature 48(4):316-318
1992 Jennings, M., Robert G. Sprackland, H. Griffith, and Richard G. Zweifel. On the proposed conservation of the specific name of Anniella pulchra Gray, 1852 and designation of a neotype (Reptilia, Squamata). Bulletin of Zoological Nomenclature 49(3):234-235
1993 ICZN Anniella-pulchra Gray 1852 Reptilia Squamata neotype designated. Bulletin of Zoological Nomenclature 50(2):186-187
1995 Bell, Christopher J., Jim I. Mead, and Leslie P. Fay. Neogene history of Anniella Gray, 1852 (Squamata, Anniellidae) with comments on postcranial osteology. Copeia 1995(3):719-726
2000 Pearse, D. E. and Pogson, G. H. Parallel evolution of the melanic form of the California legless lizard, Anniella pulchra, inferred from mitochondrial DNA sequence variation. Evolution 54(3):1041-1046
2008 Hunt, Lawrence E. Anniella. Catalogue of American Amphibians and Reptiles (848):11
2008 Hunt, Lawrence E. Anniella pulchra (California Legless Lizard). Catalogue of American Amphibians and Reptiles (850):1-14
2009 Parham, J.F. and T.J. Papenfuss High genetic diversity among fossorial lizard populations (Anniella pulchra) in a rapidly developing landscape (Central California). Conservation Genetics 10(1):169-176.
2024 Pillod, David S., Michelle I. Jeffries, Robert S. Arkle, and Deanna H. Olson. Climate futures for lizards and snakes in western North America may result in new species management issues Ecology and Evolution 14(10):1-23

THE CENTER FOR NORTH AMERICAN HERPETOLOGY — Accessed: Saturday 19 April 2025 23:13 CT