Dibamus bogadeki (Darevsky, 1992)
Bogadek's Burrowing Lizard 鮑氏雙足蜥
Suborder
Lacertilia 蜥蜴亞目
Body lilac to lavender-grey, tending to brown. Head somewhat depressed. Snout rounded.
Suture between rostral and first supralabial absent.
Fore limbs absent; posterior limbs present as two tiny flipper-like paddles in males only.
Tail tip blunt, paler than body. Regenerated tail ash-white in colour.
Reference: Darevsky I.S. 1992. Two new species of the worm-like lizard Dibamus (Sauria: Dibamidae) with remarks on the distribution and ecology of Dibamus in Vietnam. Asiatic Herpetological Research. 4: 1-12
Its exact habitat is not known but is probably forest or tall shrubland.
Lives in soil or under stones or rotting wood lying on the forest floor.
The first live specimen was discovered hiding under a mass of dead leaves and soil in a drain beside woodland.
Is docile and never attempts to bite. When exposed to dry air, it quickly loses water and the scales wrinkle.
Other dibamid species have been observed to raise their tails when uncovered.
This is thought to be a ruse to distract would-be predators and divert their attention from the lizard's head.
If caught by a foraging bird, the tail breaks off easily, giving the lizard time to scuttle away and hide. A new tail is regenerated later.
So far known from only four specimens;
one collected in 1987 on Hei Ling Chau(喜靈洲), at about 50 m elevation; two on Shek Kwu Chau(石鼓洲); a fourth one on Sunshine Island (周公島).
In 2004, Hong Kong Government proposed a plan to build a "super-prison" on Hei Ling Chau which requires a reclamation between Hei Ling Chau and Sunshine Island. The plan was strongly objected by the public and was eventually shelved indefinitely.
China Redlist: Not Evaluated
