Geotrypetes seraphini (Duméril, 1859)

Class: Amphibia > Order: Gymnophiona > Family: Dermophiidae > Genus: Geotrypetes > Species: Geotrypetes seraphini

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 (1895.2.18.4, now reregistered as 1946.9.6.84) 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 1867.10.3.14, now reregistered as 1946.9.5.56 according to museum records. 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),RMNH 6527 (as specimen of Schistometopon gregorii according to Taylor, 1968, Caecilians of the World: 724) and 6528 (3 specimens) (Liberia), BMNH 1930.11.19.50 (now 1946.9.5.67, Sanduru), 1935.9.2.67 (now 1946.9.5.37, Grand Cape Mt.), 1935.9.2.68 (now 1946.9.5.36 by museum records, Liberia), 1934.6.6.8 (now 1946.9.5.38, Tekyeman), 1907.10.25.10 (now 1946.9.5.69, Kumasi), 1917.4.13.33–35 (now 1946.9.5.39-40, Obuasi), and 1927.9.27.164-165 (now 1946.9.6.34-35, 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).

Seraphin's Caecilian (Channing and Rödel, 2019, Field Guide Frogs & Other Amph. Afr.: 34).

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; Bioko; presumably also in the Cabinda enclave of Angola and possibly to extreme western Dem. Rep. Congo.

Geographic Occurrence

Natural Resident: Cameroon, Congo, Republic of the, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Ghana, Guinea, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Nigeria, Sierra Leone

Likely/Controversially Present: Angola, Congo, Democratic Republic of the

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. Frétey, Dewynter, and Blanc, 2011, Clé de détermination, Amph. Afri. Centr. Angola: 1–232, provided a key for identification in Gabon and Equatorial Guinea. Baptista, Conradie, Vaz Pinto, and Branch, 2019, In Huntley, Russo, Lages, and Ferrand (eds.), Biodiversity in Angola: 255, suggested that this species probably extends into Angola. Dewynter and Frétey, 2019, Cah. Fondation Biotope, 27: 42, summarized the literature for Gabon. Rödel and Glos, 2019, Zoosyst. Evol., 95: 18, reported Geotrypetes cf. seraphini from the Krahn-Basa Proposed Protected Area in southeastern Liberia. Channing and Rödel, 2019, Field Guide Frogs & Other Amph. Afr.: 34–35, provided a brief account, photograph, and range map. See brief account and range map for Equatorial Guinea in Sánchez-Vialas, Calvo-Revuelta, Castroviejo-Fisher, and De la Riva, 2020, Proc. California Acad. Sci., Ser. 4, 66: 137–230. 

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