Amphibian Species of the World 5.6, an Online Reference

Caecilia Seraphini Duméril, 1859, Arch. Mus. Natl. Hist. Nat. Paris, 10: 222. Syntypes: MNHNP 1256 (3 specimens), according to Guibé, 1950 "1948", Cat. Types Amph. Mus. Natl. Hist. Nat.: 5, and BMNH (1 specimen) on exchange from MNHNP according to Boulenger, 1895, Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist., Ser. 6, 15: 328; MNHNP 1256B designated lectotype by Lescure, 1988, Bull. Mus. Natl. Hist. Nat. Paris, Sect. A, Zool., 10: 65. Type locality: "Gabon".

Hypogeophis seraphini — Peters, 1880 "1879", Monatsber. Preuss. Akad. Wiss. Berlin, 1879: 937.

Geotrypetes seraphini — Peters, 1880, Sitzungsber. Ges. Naturforsch. Freunde Berlin, 1880: 55.

Uraeotyphlus africanus Boulenger, 1882, Cat. Batr. Grad. Batr. Apoda Coll. Brit. Mus., Ed. 2: 92-93. Holotype: BMNH. Type locality: "West Africa". Synonymy by Boulenger, 1895, Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist., Ser. 6, 15: 328, Mocquard, 1897, Bull. Soc. Philomath., Paris, Ser. 8, 9: 20, and Parker, 1927, Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist., Ser. 9, 20: 478-480.

Uraeotyphlus seraphini —Vaillant In Boulenger, 1895, Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist., Ser. 6, 15: 328.

Geotrypetes petersii Boulenger, 1895, Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist., Ser. 6, 15: 329. Holotype: BMNH, animal figured on plate IX, fig. 2 of the original publication. Type locality: "Lagos", Nigeria. New name for "Hypogeophis seraphini" sensu Peters, 1880 "1879". Synonymy by Parker, 1927, Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist., Ser. 9, 20: 478-480, and Taylor, 1968, Caecilians of the World: 721.

Geotrypetes seraphini seraphini — Parker, 1936, Zool. Meded., Leiden, 19: 99-100.

Geotrypetes seraphini occidentalis Parker, 1936, Zool. Meded., Leiden, 19: 99-100. Syntypes: Not designated; considered to be MNHNP 20.188-189 (Beyla), BMNH 1930.11.19.50 (Sanduru), 1935.9.2.67 (Grand Cape Mt.), RMNH 6527 (as specimen of Schistometopon gregorii according to Taylor, 1968, Caecilians of the World: 724) and 6528 (3 specimens) (Liberia), BMNH 1935.9.2.68 (Liberia), 1934.6.6.8 (Tekyeman), 1907, 10.25.10 (Kumasi), 1917.4.13.33-35 (Obuasi), 1927.9.27.164-164 (Bawhu), according to Taylor, 1968, Caecilians of the World: 725. Type localities: "Beyla, French Guinea", "Sanduru, E. Sierra Leone", "Grand Cape Mt., Liberia", "Liberia", "Tekyeman, Gold Coast", "Kumasi, Ashanti", "Obuasi, Ashanti", "Bawhu, Ashanti".

Geotrypetes congoensis Taylor, 1968, Caecilians of the World: 715. Holotype: MRAC 101464, by original designation. Type locality: "Kitadi, 'Riv. Sinda.' Mayumbe region, Congo (Kivu)", Dem. Rep. Congo. (see discussion of type locality by Laurent, 1974, Copeia, 1974: 787). Synonymy by Taylor, 1973, Univ. Kansas Sci. Bull., 50: 230.

Geotrypetes seraphini congoensis — Taylor, 1973, Univ. Kansas Sci. Bull., 50: 230.

Schistometopum garzonheydti Taylor and Salvador, 1978, Salamandra, 14: 60. Holotype: MNCN 1239, by original designation. Type locality: "Insel Fernando Poo", Gulf of Guinea. Synonymy by Nussbaum and Pfrender, 1998, Misc. Publ. Mus. Zool. Univ. Michigan, 187: 1-32.

English Names

Gaboon Caecilian (Geotrypetes seraphinii: Frank and Ramus, 1995, Compl. Guide Scient. Common Names Amph. Rept. World: 24).

Insel Fernando Poo Caecilian (Schistometopum garzonheydti [no longer recognized]: Frank and Ramus, 1995, Compl. Guide Scient. Common Names Amph. Rept. World: 24).

Distribution

From eastern Sierra Leone and the Liberian coast and southern Guinea through southern Ivory Coast to southern Ghana; southern Nigeria and Cameroon south through Equatorial Guinea and Gabon to western and southern Rep. Congo, and extreme western Dem. Rep. Congo; Bioko; presumably also in the Cabinda enclave of Angola.

Comment

Laurent, 1974, Copeia, 1974: 787-788, commented on the provenance of the specimens of Geotrypetes congoensis. Rödel and Branch, 2002, Salamandra, 38: 263, reported a second specimen from Ivory Coast. Rödel, Gil, Agyei, Leaché, Diaz, Fujita, and Ernst, 2005, Salamandra, 41: 111, commented on range in Ghana. Zassi-Boulou and Boudzoumou, 2010, Herpetol. Rev., 41: 241-242, provided a record for southern Rep. Congo.

External Links

Please note: these links will take you to external websites not affiliated with the American Museum of Natural History. We are not responsible for their content.

• For additional sources of information from other sites search Google
• For images search Arkive, CalPhoto Images and Google Images
• To search the NIH genetic sequence database, see GenBank
• For information aggregation from other sites and some original accounts see AmphibiaWeb report
• For further information on conservation status and distribution see the IUCN Redlist
• For related information on conservation and images as well as observation see iNaturalist;
• for a quick link to their maps see iNaturalist KML