Cool topic, Dave. I can't speak to the basis of the rumors. I do remember hearing about Amphisbaenians in AZ, as a kid. Back when I was a youngin, my goal was always to find a new species or ssp., so I was really into cryptids. Overly optimistic and naive, i was. When Owen and I went to AZ in '82, Amphisbaenians were right up there on my to-find list. I actually thought that I had a fair chance at finding one.

But again, I was young…
I do recall hearing that they could be found in the sandy loam at the base of trees, under leaf litter. Beyond that, the rest of what I heard was probably purged from my brain to make room for other, more important things, like the Joey Buttafucco saga.
Derek