AMPHISBAENA is the name given to the main genus of a family of worm-shaped lizards, most of which inhabit the tropical parts of America, the West Indies and Africa. The com monest species in South America and the Antilles is the sooty or dusky A. f uliginosa. The body of the amphisbaena, from 18 to loin. long, is of nearly the same thickness throughout. The head is small, and there can scarcely be said to be a tail, the vent being close to the extremity of the body. The animal lives mostly underground, burrowing in soft earth, and feeds on ants and other small animals. The name, which implies that the animal can move in either direction, was applied to a serpent in Greek mythol ogy; and has been transferred to the lizard by zoologists because owing to the superficial resemblance between the head and tail the Brazilian natives call it the snake with two heads and believe that it can reverse the direction of its motion.