Microcaecilia taylori

Microcaecilia taylori is a species of caecilian in the family Siphonopidae. It is known from two widely separated populations, one in southern Suriname and other one in Pará, Brazil, south of the Amazon River.[2] It is not clear whether the gap is real or whether the populations south of the Amazon River represent a distinct species.[3] Microcaecilia taylori was confused with Microcaecilia marvaleewakeae before the latter was described in 2013.[2][3]

Microcaecilia taylori
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Amphibia
Order: Gymnophiona
Clade: Apoda
Family: Siphonopidae
Genus: Microcaecilia
Species:
M. taylori
Binomial name
Microcaecilia taylori
Nussbaum and Hoogmoed, 1979

Etymology

The specific name taylori honors Edward Harrison Taylor (1889–1978), an American herpetologist.[4]

Description

Microcaecilia taylori is a relatively small species reaching a total body length of 172 mm (6.8 in) and body width of 5 mm (0.20 in) in snout–vent length. There are 115–118 primary body rings. The eyes are invisible. The body color is purple with small, lighter spots. The ventral parts are transparent.[5]

Habitat and conservation

Its natural habitats are primary tropical rainforest and forest islands in the savanna. It is a subterranean species also found under logs. There are no known threats to this species that is found in areas of low human impact. It occurs in the Sipaliwani Nature Reserve.[1]

References
  1. Reynolds, R.; Hoogmoed, M.; MacCulloch, R.; Gaucher, P.; Wilkinson, M. (2004). "Microcaecilia taylori". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2004: e.T59573A11951234. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2004.RLTS.T59573A11951234.en.
  2. Frost, Darrel R. (2017). "Microcaecilia taylori Nussbaum and Hoogmoed, 1979". Amphibian Species of the World: an Online Reference. Version 6.0. American Museum of Natural History. Retrieved 18 March 2017.
  3. Maciel, Adriano O.; Hoogmoed, Marinus S. (2013). "A new species of Microcaecilia (Amphibia: Gymnophiona: Siphonopidae) from the Guianan region of Brazil". Zootaxa. 3693 (3): 387–94. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.3693.3.9. PMID 26185857.
  4. Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2013). The Eponym Dictionary of Amphibians. Pelagic Publishing. pp. 331–332. ISBN 978-1-907807-42-8.
  5. Ouboter, Paul E.; Jairam, Rawien (2012). Amphibians of Suriname. Leiden: Brill. pp. 326–327. ISBN 978-90-04-20800-1.
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