Caecilians are a group of limbless, vermiform or serpentine amphibians. They mostly live hidden in the ground and in stream substrates, making them the least familiar order of amphibians. Caecilians are mostly distributed in the tropics of South and Central America, Africa, and southern Asia. Their diet consists of small subterranean creatures such as earthworms.
Rhinatrematidae is a family of caecilians, also known as the Neotropical tailed caecilians, American tailed caecilians. or beaked caecilians. They are found in the equatorial countries of South America.
Uraeotyphlus is a genus of caecilians in the family Ichthyophiidae. There are seven species in this genus, all of which are endemic to the Western Ghats of southwestern India. Previously, the genus has also been placed in its own monotypic family Uraeotyphlidae.
Indotyphlus maharashtraensis is a species of caecilians described in 2004 by scientists of Bombay Natural History Society and the Natural History Museum, London. It is only the second species of Indotyphlus known to science, and only known from its type locality near Humbarli village, Satara District, in the Western Ghats of Maharashtra, India. Common names Humbarli caecilian, Maharashtra caecilian, and Konkan tail-less caecilian have been coined for it.
Boulengerula taitana is a species of caecilian. It is endemic to the Taita Hills region of southeast Kenya.
Atretochoana eiselti is a species of caecilian originally known only from two preserved specimens discovered by Sir Graham Hales in the Brazilian rainforest, while on an expedition with Sir Brian Doll in the late 1800s, but rediscovered in 2011 by engineers working on a hydroelectric dam project in Brazil. Until 1998, it was known only from the type specimen in the Naturhistorisches Museum, Vienna. Originally placed in the genus Typhlonectes in 1968, it was reclassified into its own monotypic genus, Atretochoana, in 1996. It was also found to be more closely related to the genus Potamotyphlus than Typholonectes. The species is the largest of the few known lungless tetrapods, and the only known lungless caecilian.
Boulengerula is a genus of amphibians in the family Herpelidae. They are found in East Africa. They are sometimes known as Boulenger's caecilians or Usambara bluish-gray caecilians.
Brasilotyphlus is a genus of caecilians in the family Siphonopidae. It was considered monotypic, containing only the species Brasilotyphlus braziliensis. However, two recently described species, Brasilotyphlus guarantanus and Brasilotyphlus dubium, have been placed in this same genus. Both species have only been recorded from Brazilian Amazonia. This genus has also been suggested as paraphyletic to Microcaecilia.
Chthonerpeton exile is a species of caecilian in the family Typhlonectidae. It is endemic to Brazil, and only known from its imprecise type locality "Bahia". Only one specimen is known and now lost. The specific name exile, form Latin exilis, refers to the "relatively slender, delicate shape of the body and head." The common name Bahia caecilian has been coined for this species.
Microcaecilia is a genus of caecilians in the family Siphonopidae.
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. It is not clear whether the gap is real or whether the populations south of the Amazon River represent a distinct species. Microcaecilia taylori was confused with Microcaecilia marvaleewakeae before the latter was described in 2013.
Mimosiphonops vermiculatus is a species of caecilian in the family Siphonopidae. It is endemic to Brazil and known with certainty only from its type locality, Teresópolis in the Rio de Janeiro state. Common name worm-patterned caecilian has been proposed for this species.
Siphonops annulatus, the ringed caecilian, is a species of caecilian in the family Siphonopidae from South America. It might have the broadest known distribution among terrestrial caecilian species.
Sylvacaecilia is a monotypic genus of caecilian. The only species is Sylvacaecilia grandisonae, also known as the Aleku caecilian or Ethiopian caecilian. It is endemic to southwestern Ethiopia and known from the Gambela, Oromia, and Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples' Regions.
Crotaphatrema lamottei, the Mount Oku caecilian or Lamotte's caecilian, is a species of caecilian in the family Scolecomorphidae. It is endemic to Mount Oku in Cameroon. The specific name lamottei honours Maxime Lamotte, French biologist. There is some doubt whether Crotaphatrema tchabalmbaboensis really is distinct from this species.
Indotyphlus is a small genus of caecilians in the family Indotyphlidae. As caecilians in general, they superficially resemble earthworms. The genus is endemic to the Western Ghats, India. They are sometimes known as Battersby's caecilians.
Ichthyophis moustakius, the Manipur moustached caecilian, is a species of caecilian in the family Ichthyophiidae. It is endemic to Northeast India. This species exhibits broad lateral yellow stripes from the anterior part of its tail, along its mandibles, between its nares, as well as elsewhere. The animal can reach a length of 300 millimetres (12 in). Its head is somewhat U-shaped and fairly short; scales are absent on its collars. The species' name is derived from the Greek word moustakius, meaning "moustache", due to the yellow arched stripes it possesses.
Ichthyophis khumhzi, the Khumhzi striped ichthyophis, is a species of caecilian found in India. It has narrow and irregular lateral yellow stripes. It can attain lengths larger than 400 mm (16 in). Its head is V-shaped while short; the animal shows scales as far anterior as its collars. The species is named after Khumhzi village, where the specimens were first collected.
Ichthyophis sendenyu, the Sendenyu striped ichthyophis, is a species of caecilian found in India. This species of Ichthyophis possesses broad and solid lateral yellow stripes from about the level of the posterior of its disc to its eye level on the upper jaw, while arched yellow stripes extend to its nares. Its length does not exceed 350 millimetres (14 in). Its head is U-shaped and short. Scales are present in anteriormost grooves, with five to eight rows placed posteriorly on its dorsum. It is named after Sendenyu village, Nagaland, where the species was first found.
Boulengerula spawlsi is a species of caecilian in the family Herpelidae. It is endemic to Kenya and only know from the vicinity of its type locality, Ngaia Forest Reserve, in the Nyambene Hills, Meru County; the type locality is also spelled "Ngaya" or "Ngaja". The specific name spawlsi honours Stephen Spawls who first collected this species and who has contributed substantially to African herpetology. Common name Spawls' boolee has been coined for it.
