Herpelidae

Herpelidae are a family of caecilians, sometimes known as the African caecilians. They are found in Sub-Saharan Africa.[1][2][3] Like other caecilians, they superficially resemble worms or snakes.[3] They are the sister group to the newly discovered Chikilidae.[4]

Herpelidae
Female Herpele squalostoma with her young
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Amphibia
Order: Gymnophiona
Clade: Apoda
Family: Herpelidae
Laurent, 1984
Type genus
Herpele
Peters, 1875
Genera

Distribution

Herpelidae occur primarily in Central and East Africa, barely reaching West Africa (southeastern Nigeria), and northern parts of Southern Africa (Malawi, possibly Zambia).[1]

Genera

There are two genera with ten species in total:[1][2]

  • Boulengerula Tornier, 1896 – Boulenger's caecilians, Usambara bluish-gray caecilians (8 species)
  • Herpele Peters, 1880 – Congo caecilians (2 species)
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References
  1. Frost, Darrel R. (2018). "Herpelidae Laurent, 1984". Amphibian Species of the World: an Online Reference. Version 6.0. American Museum of Natural History. Retrieved 22 May 2018.
  2. "Herpelidae". AmphibiaWeb. University of California, Berkeley. 2018. Retrieved 22 May 2018.
  3. Vitt, Laurie J. & Caldwell, Janalee P. (2014). Herpetology: An Introductory Biology of Amphibians and Reptiles (4th ed.). Academic Press. pp. 451–452.
  4. Frost, Darrel R. (2018). "Chikilidae Kamei, San Mauro, Gower, Van Bocxlaer, Sherratt, Thomas, Babu, Bossuyt, Wilkinson, and Biju, 2012". Amphibian Species of the World: an Online Reference. Version 6.0. American Museum of Natural History. Retrieved 22 May 2018.
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