biology

Pink-tailed worm-lizard

Pink-tailed worm-lizard is a biology topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Pink-tailed worm-lizard rather than just read about it. In short: The pink-tailed worm-lizard or granite worm-lizard (Aprasia parapulchella) is a rare legless lizard found in Australia. The animal looks like a combination of small snake and worm.

Key takeaways

Pink-tailed worm-lizard belongs to biology; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Pink-tailed worm-lizard to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Pink-tailed worm-lizard from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The pink-tailed worm-lizard or granite worm-lizard (Aprasia parapulchella) is a rare legless lizard found in Australia. The animal looks like a combination of small snake and worm. Its total length is up to 14 cm. It has a pink tail and is white underneath. The head and neck are brown, and the rest of the top of the body is pale grey. Scales on the back each have a dark bar, giving the appearance of dots down the back. It is found on two hills near Tarcutta, Bathurst, New South Wales, Bendigo in Victoria, and along the sides of the Molonglo River and Murrumbidgee River and on Mount Taylor in the Australian Capital Territory. The lizards eat invertebrates that live under rocks. They can be found under rocks sized from 0.15 to 0.6 m. Their main diet is ant eggs, particularly from Iridomyrmex species and Rhytidoponera metallica.

Genetics

Aprasia parapulchella cells have 42 chromosomes in the diploid state. Males of the species have a heteromorphic pair of chromosomes (a pair of two different ones), termed XY, and the females have a pair of same XX chromosomes. The microsatellite (AGAT)8 is strongly repeated near the Y chromosome centromere. The Y chromosome also contains the (AC)15 motif, whereas the X chromosome does not. (AC)15 also shows up on another two pairs of small and large chromosomes.

Anatomy The head and tail are both rounded in shape. It differs from a snake in that scaly hind limb flaps are present. Also, its tongue is not forked, but is flat and long. There are no ears visible. Species-specific characteristics include absence of pattern on the side of the head, two preocular scales and three preanal scales are present, and the first upper labial scale and nasal scale are fused. Weights of the lizards can range from 0.1 to 4.0 g. At 1 year old, they are around 6 cm from snout to vent, in the second year they reach 8 cm, and in the third year 9.6 cm. Adult males over 3 years old average 10.9 cm and females are slightly bigger at 12 cm.

Threats The lizard is threatened by habitat fragmentation, removal of rock, grazing, tree planting, weeds, and ploughing.

References

Further reading Wong, D.T.Y.; S.R. Jones; W.S. Osborne; G.W. Brown; P. Robertson; D.R. Michael; G.M. Kay (2011). "The life history and ecology of the Pink-tailed Worm-lizard Aprasia parapulchella Kluge - a review". Australian Zoologist. 35 (4): 927–940. doi:10.7882/az.2011.045. hdl:1885/59012.

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Pink-tailed worm-lizard

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Pink-tailed worm-lizard claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In biology, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Pink-tailed worm-lizard before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Pink-tailed worm-lizard ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Pink-tailed worm-lizard

In research: Pink-tailed worm-lizard appears in biology research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Pink-tailed worm-lizard in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Pink-tailed worm-lizard is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Aprasia, IUCN Red List least concern species, Legless lizards, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Pink-tailed worm-lizard outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Pink-tailed worm-lizard in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Pink-tailed worm-lizard means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Pink-tailed worm-lizard out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Pink-tailed worm-lizard in simple terms?

The pink-tailed worm-lizard or granite worm-lizard (Aprasia parapulchella) is a rare legless lizard found in Australia. The animal looks like a combination of small snake and worm.

Why does Pink-tailed worm-lizard matter?

Because it connects several biology ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Pink-tailed worm-lizard?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Pink-tailed worm-lizard.