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 
| |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Amphibia |
| Order: | Gymnophiona |
| Clade: | Apoda |
| Family: | Siphonopidae |
| Genus: | Microcaecilia |
| Species: | M. taylori
|
| Binomial name | |
| Microcaecilia taylori | |
Etymology
editThe specific name taylori honors Edward Harrison Taylor (1889–1978), an American herpetologist.[4]
Description
editMicrocaecilia 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
editIts 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
edit- ^ a b Robert Reynolds, Marinus Hoogmoed, Ross MacCulloch, Philippe Gaucher, Mark Wilkinson (2004). "Microcaecilia taylori". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2004: e.T59573A11951234. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2004.RLTS.T59573A11951234.en. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ a b 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.
- ^ a b 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.
- ^ Beolens, Bo; Watkins, Michael; Grayson, Michael (2013). The Eponym Dictionary of Amphibians. Pelagic Publishing. pp. 331–332. ISBN 978-1-907807-42-8.
- ^ Ouboter, Paul E.; Jairam, Rawien (2012). Amphibians of Suriname. Leiden: Brill. pp. 326–327. ISBN 978-90-04-20800-1.