The Scolecomorphidae (from Greek: σκώλεκώς skólekós, 'wormlike' and Greek: μορφή morphḗ, 'form') are a family of caecilians[1] also known as tropical caecilians, buried-eyed caecilians,[1][2] or African caecilians.[3] They are found in Cameroon in West Africa, and Malawi and Tanzania in East Africa.[1] Caecilians are legless amphibians which superficially resemble worms or snakes.
Scolecomorphidae | |
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Scolecomorphus kirkii | |
Scientific classification ![]() | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Amphibia |
Order: | Gymnophiona |
Clade: | Apoda |
Family: | Scolecomorphidae Taylor, 1969 |
Genera | |
Scolecomorphids have only vestigial eyes, which are attached to the base of a pair of tentacles underneath the snout. Unlike other caecilians, they have only primary annuli; these are grooves running incompletely around the body, giving the animal a segmented appearance. All other caecilians have a complex pattern of grooves, with secondary or tertiary annuli present. Also uniquely amongst tetrapods, the scolecomorphids lack a stapes bone in the middle ear.[4]
At least some species of scolecomorphids give birth to live young, retaining the eggs inside the females' bodies until they hatch into fully formed offspring, without the presence of a free-living larval stage.[4]
Taxonomy
Just six species of scolecomorphids are known, grouped into two genera, as follows:[1][2]
Family Scolecomorphidae
- Genus Crotaphatrema Nussbaum, 1985
- Crotaphatrema bornmuelleri (Werner, 1899), Bornmuller's caecilian, Cameroon
- Crotaphatrema lamottei (Nussbaum, 1981), Mont Oku caecilian, Cameroon
- Crotaphatrema tchabalmbaboensis Lawson, 2000, Cameroon
- Genus Scolecomorphus Boulenger, 1883
- Scolecomorphus kirkii Boulenger, 1883, Kirk's caecilian or Lake Tanganyika caecilian, East Africa
- Scolecomorphus uluguruensis Barbour and Loveridge, 1928, Uluguru black caecilian or Nyingwa caecilian, Tanzania
- Scolecomorphus vittatus (Boulenger, 1895), ribbon caecilian or banded caecilian, Tanzania
References
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