# Wormlizard (*Gymnophthalmus underwoodi*)

Canonical page: https://creaturedata.com/animals/wormlizard  
Data as of: 2026-11-13

The wormlizard (Gymnophthalmus underwoodi) is a species in the family Gymnophthalmidae, order Squamata. Recorded adults weigh 1.13 g to 1.2 g and reach 3.8 cm in length.

## Quick facts

| Fact | Value |
|---|---|
| Weight | 1.13 g – 1.2 g |
| Length | 3.8 cm |
| Lifespan | Not recorded |
| Diet | Carnivore |
| Main food | Not recorded |
| Habitat | forest |
| Young per litter or clutch | 1 – 6 |
| Reproduction | Eggs |
| Active | By day (diurnal) |
| Lifestyle | Terrestrial |
| Conservation status | Not recorded |
| Countries on record | Not recorded |

## Introduced range

The Global Register of Introduced and Invasive Species lists it as introduced in 9 countries, and flagged as invasive in 1 of them. Introduced: Antigua & Barbuda, Barbados, Cuba, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Grenada, Sint Maarten, St. Kitts & Nevis, St. Martin. Invasive: Sint Maarten. Source: https://griis.org/ (CC BY 4.0).

## Classification

- kingdom: Animalia
- phylum: Chordata
- class: Reptilia
- order: Squamata
- family: Gymnophthalmidae
- genus: Gymnophthalmus
- species: *Gymnophthalmus underwoodi* Grant, 1958

## Common questions

### How big is the wormlizard?

An adult wormlizard weighs 1.13 g – 1.2 g and measures 3.8 cm long, according to values recorded on Wikidata.

### Is the wormlizard an invasive species?

In some places. The Global Register of Introduced and Invasive Species flags the wormlizard as invasive in 1 country: Sint Maarten. It lists it as introduced in 9 in all.

### What kind of animal is the wormlizard?

The wormlizard (Gymnophthalmus underwoodi) belongs to the family Gymnophthalmidae in the order Squamata.

## Sources

- [An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1), CC0 1.0, E096-269. Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1
- [Catalogue of Life eXtended Release](https://www.checklistbank.org/dataset/316691), CC BY 4.0, 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf
- [Global Register of Introduced and Invasive Species (GRIIS)](https://griis.org/), CC BY 4.0, 2026-11-13. Pagad, S., Genovesi, P., Carnevali, L., Schigel, D. & McGeoch, M.A. (2018) Introducing the Global Register of Introduced and Invasive Species. Scientific Data 5: 170202. https://doi.org/10.1038/sdata.2017.202. Country checklists published through GBIF by the IUCN SSC Invasive Species Specialist Group.
- [ReptTraits: a comprehensive dataset of ecological traits in reptiles](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.24572683.v4), CC BY 4.0, v1-2. Oskyrko, O., Mi, C., Meiri, S. et al. (2024) ReptTraits: a comprehensive dataset of ecological traits in reptiles. Scientific Data 11: 243. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-024-03079-5. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.24572683.v4
- [SquamBase 1.0 - a dataset of squamate species traits](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.76hdr7t3b), CC0 1.0, 1.0-dryad-v5. Meiri, S. (2024) SquamBase - a database of squamate (Reptilia: Squamata) traits. Global Ecology and Biogeography 33(4): e13812. https://doi.org/10.1111/geb.13812. Data: https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.76hdr7t3b

Cite as: Wormlizard (Gymnophthalmus underwoodi). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/wormlizard