---
title: "Southwest Iberian Worm Lizard"
description: "Blanus cinereus — Reptiles. The Iberian worm lizard, Mediterranean worm lizard, or European worm lizard (Blanus cinereus) is a species of reptile in the family Blanidae (worm lizards) of the clade Amphisbaenia."
canonical: https://animalchecklist.com/animal/southwest-iberian-worm-lizard
last_updated: 2026-09-20
---

# Southwest Iberian Worm Lizard

> Blanus cinereus — Reptiles. The Iberian worm lizard, Mediterranean worm lizard, or European worm lizard (Blanus cinereus) is a species of reptile in the family Blanidae (worm lizards) of the clade Amphisbaenia.

- Scientific name: *Blanus cinereus*
- Category: `reptiles` (Reptiles)
- Habitats: unknown
- iNaturalist observations: 886
- Wikidata: [Q200664](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q200664)
- iNaturalist taxon: [73702](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/73702)

## Names

- en: Southwest Iberian Worm Lizard
- de: Maurische Netzwühle
- es: Culebrilla de María
- fr: Amphisbène cendré
- nl: Moorse wormhagedis
- pl: Obrączkowiec europejski

## Countries with the most observations

PT (546), ES (226)

## Summary

The Iberian worm lizard, Mediterranean worm lizard, or European worm lizard (Blanus cinereus) is a species of reptile in the family Blanidae (worm lizards) of the clade Amphisbaenia.  The Iberian worm lizard is locally known as cobra-cega (Portuguese), culebrilla ciega (Spanish), and colobreta cega (Catalan), all meaning "blind snake".  Recent studies into the mitochondrial and nuclear genomic data of 47 isolated B. cinereus populations show rather large sequence divergence between two apparent clades, leading some researchers to call for a division of the Iberian worm lizard into two species.  While little is known…

Text: Wikipedia (en), CC BY-SA 4.0 — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iberian_worm_lizard

## Photo

![Southwest Iberian Worm Lizard](https://animalchecklist.com/img/animals/southwest-iberian-worm-lizard/medium.jpg)

Photo: Jean-Philippe Drécourt · CC0 · inaturalist — https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/53664112

## Machine access

`GET https://animalchecklist.com/api/v1/animals/southwest-iberian-worm-lizard?lang=en` — see [openapi.json](https://animalchecklist.com/openapi.json).