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...... •• •••• :-•••.• ••• • SCIENCE BULLETIN :::: •••••• •••..• •••• ••• ••• • •••• •....•• •••• MUS. COMP. ZOOL:. •••• •••• :::: •••• •• ••• • LIBRARY t ••• '.•: •••• • • ~· •••..• ••••• • ..... ••• • •••• • •••• ••• • •·.•.••• •••••• • •~=:••• '•'• •••• JUL 151~74 ...... ,•.• •••••• • :·:· ••••••• •••••• •••• •••• ••• • ~.· •• •'•' •••• •••• ••••.' HARVARD '•.••• •••• ••• • ~.·. •••• ••• • UN1V£RSITYJ ....••• •••• ••• • ••• ..•••• ••• • •••• •••• •••• •••• ••• • ·:·: •..••• ••• • •••• '•'• ••••• •••••••• •'••• . ••• • .••, '..•'• ••••• •••• :·:· ••••• THE CAECILIANS OF ECUADOR ••••••• ••• ••• •••• .•..•• • ••• •••• ••• • ••• •••• •••• :••••·:· •••• .... •••••• ~.· :::: •••• ••• • ..•• ,.• .. ••• •••• •••••• • •'• •••• •• •• ••• ••(•' ::: ••• •••• •'•' •••• ••••• • • • •••• •'•'•••• •••• ..,• •••• ••• . •••• ••• • •••• .. •• •• ..•••• •••••••• • • •••• .•... • ••• •••• ••• • •• ••• :::: ....·.~ ·:·: •'•'•••• •• •••••• • •••• ••• ••• • • • ••• •••• ••••• • ....••• •••• By •••• •••• •••• ..•• •' ••• ,•••• • :·:· •'•'•••• .•. .... •••• ••• • ••• •••• •••••• • •••• •••• • •••• •••• EDWARD H. TAYLOR AND JAMES A. PETERS ::: •••••••• :•·:·••• •••• •••• ••'•'•• • • • • .. ~=~ ••• •• • •I •• 0• ••• •••• •••• •'• ••• • ·=·•••••· .. ••• • •:· ·•:·:••• ••• • !-,• •:-.•• ·:-: ~.· ••• • •••• !',•:-.• :-.• •••••• • !'e' .•••.• •••••• ~.· ••• ••• • '•'••• ••• ••• • '•'• ••••'• ••••••• • ....•••• ••• • • •••• ••••• ••••••• • ..... ~.·•• • • ,•.. •••• •••••• • •••••• •••• ••• • ••••.. • ••• ••• • •••• •••••• ·:-: :'.~ ••••• ••• • .... •••• ••• • "•" •• ••• •• ,.~~· ••• •.. • -•.·••• •·=~•• • •••••••• ••••. ••••• • .... ~::: •••• ...: .., ::~ ...•••• ..•• • ••• •••• •••• • ••••.. :::: ,~.·... •••• •••• •• ••• • ..•••• ..,'•'•..• ..., •••• •••• '~·=•'• •••• ••• •• •••• ••••• • ••••...... !~...... ••••••• • ...•••• • •• ••• • •-=··••• •••••• ,••,• • • •·•••·~~ •••• ••••••• •••• ' . Vol. 50, No. 7, pp. 333-346 ••• •••• June 28, 1974 •••• •••••• '•'• ..•••• ••••..... ANNOUNCEMENT
The Universtty of Kansas Science Bulletin (continuation of the Kansas Uni versity Quarterly) is an outlet for scholarly scientific investigations carried out at the University of Kansas or by University faculty and students. Since its inception, volwnes of the Bulletin have been variously issued as single bound volumes, as two or three multi-paper parts or as series of individual papers. Issuance is at irregular intervals, with each volume prior to volume 50 approxi mately 1000 pages in length. The supply of all volumes of the Kansas University Quarterly is now ex hausted. However, most volumes of the University of Kansas Science Bulletin are still available and are offered, in exchange for similar publications, to learned societies, colleges and universities and other institutions, or may be purchased at $15.00 per volume. Where some of these volumes were issued in parts, in dividual parts are priced at the rate of 1 Yz cents per page. Current policy, ini tiated with volume 46, is to issue individual papers as published. Such separata from volumes 46 to 49 may likewise be purchased individually at the rate of I Yz cents per page. Effective with volume 50, page size has been enlarged, reducing the length of each volume to about 750 pages, with separata available at the rate of 2¢ per page. Subscriptions for forthcoming volumes may be entered at the rate of $15.00 per volume. All communications regarding ex changes, sales and subscriptions should be addressed to the ExcHANGE LIBRARIAN, UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS LIBRARIES, LAWRENCE, KANSAS 66045. Reprints of individual papers for personal use by investigators are available gratis for most recent and many older issues of the Bulletin. Such requests should be directed to the author. The International Standard Serial Nwnber of this publication is US ISSN 0022-8850.
Editor Charles R. Wyttenbacb
Editorial Board Kenneth B. Armitage Richard F. Johnston Paul A. Kitos Charles D. Michener Delbert M. Shankd George W. Byers, Chairman THE UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS SCIENCE BULLETIN Vol. 50, No. 7, pp. 333-346 June 28, 1974
T he Caecilians of Ecuador
Eow,\RD H. TAYLOR AND JA~fl~s A. P ETERS
TABLE OF CONTENTS
~ IISTRA<;T ...... •.....•...... 335
~ I ' TRODtJ(;TION ...... 33 ..J - SP E<; IES Ac;c;ouNTs ...... 33) Family Ichthyoph iidac ...... 335 Epicrionops bicolor Boulenger ...... 335 Epicrionops murmoratus Taylor ...... 336 Epicrionops petersi petersi Tay lor ...... 336 . . Ep1crtonops sp...... 336
Fan1ily Typhlo n cct id ::~e ...... 337 PotamotyphluJ l(c!Up ii ( Berthold) ...... 337
Family Caeciliid::~c ...... 337 Siphonops t/11 1/Uiatus ( Mikan) ...... 337 Microcaecilia a/biceps ( Boulenger) ...... 33 Oscaecilia bass/en· (Dunn) ...... 338 Oscaecilia equatorialis Taylor ...... 338 Caecilia pachy11ema Gunther ...... 339 CaeciLia abitaguae Dunn ...... 340 Caecilia bokermanni Taylor ...... 340 Caecilia orienta/is Taylor ...... 340 Caecilia crassisquama Taylor ...... 341 Caecilia disossea Tay lor ...... 341 T HE UNIVERSITY oF KANsAs SciENCE Bu LLETIN
Caecilia dunni Hershkovitz ...... 341 Caecilia nigriccm s Boulenger ...... 34 1 Caecilia albiventris Daudin ...... 342 Cctecilia tentaculata Lin nae us ...... 343 Caecilia sp...... 343 Caecilia attenuata T ayl or ...... 344 Caecilia sp...... 344 Caecilia su bten n inalis Taylor ...... 345 Caecilia tenuiJsi ma T ay lor ...... 345
~ L ITER ATUR£ C ITED ...... 34) 335
The Caecilians of Ecuador
EovvARD H. TAYLOR* AND JA:r-r Es A. P ETERs **
ABSTRACT This paper deals with a study of a caecilian collection made in Ecuador largely by the junior author and fo r the most part not avaibble to the senior author in the preparation of his 1968 monograph on the caecilians.
INTRODUCTION EPN: Escuela Politechnica Nacional The junior author spent considerable Ecuador, Quito. time in Ecuador collecting in various parts J AP: James A . Peters, Private Collec of the country and in studying the collec tion, Washington, D.C. tions that h ave been largely acquired by KUMN H: Kansas University Museum the United States National Museum. The of Natural History, Lawrence, Kansas. senior author visited some weeks in the USNM: United States National Mu country, all of which time was spent in seum, Washington, D.C. the field. Both were surprised at the large number of species of caecilians that are to SPECIES ACCOUNT S be found there and doubt that so large a Family Ichthyophiidae number occur in any other area of equal Of the two South American genera, size. We believe that the high continental Rhinatrema and Epicrionops, recognized divide is responsible for dividing the in the family Ichthyophiidae, only the lat species largely into two groups, one oc ter is known to occur in Ecuador. One of curring in the Pacific and western Carib the most striking characters separating bean drainage, the other largely if not these genera is that Rhinatrema h as a entirely in the Atlantic and the eastern transverse anal vent, Epicrionops a longi Caribbean drainage. tudinal vent. There is also a striking It is true that certain species have been difference in the character of the caudal reported in both areas; some of these are appendage of the two forms. in obvious error. Of course it is entirely Epicrionops appears to be distributed probable that certain ones do occur in both from Peru north and east as far as eastern areas. Venezuela, while Rhinatrema is known The senior author believes that the only from the type-locality in Cayenne. Linnaean name Caecilia tentaculata was Three forms of Epicrionops are recognized originaily applied to a now unidentifiable in Ecuador. These are E. bicolor, E. mar species (the type now lost). The matter moratus, and E. petersi petersi. is being investigated. The following museum abbreviations are Epicrionops bicolor Boulenger used: Epicrionops bicolor Bou lengcr, Ann. Mag. N at. Hist., BMN H: British Museum of Natural ser. 5, vol. 11, 1883, pp. 202-203 (type-locality, History, London. "Intac, 3900 ft. elevation in western Ecuador ").
• Research Associate, Kansas University Museum The type was collected in Ecuador. of Natural History, Lawrence, Kansas. Presumably the species is confined to the u Curator, Di\•ision of Reptiles and Amphibians, Pacific drainage area. The type is re U.S. National Museum, Was hington, D.C. Deceased, December, 1972. described by T aylor ( 1968) . 336 THE UNI VERS ITY OF K ANSAS SciENCE B u LLETIN
T he junior author and Robert Copping This species and Caecilia orienta/is were collected a specim.en of this genus, JAP found together, living under precisely the 4092. on May 9, 1959, on the cacao farm same environmental conditions. .Nfost of of Colonel D yott, at kilometer 121 from the specim ens in the type series were taken Q uito six kilometers east of Santo D o under a thick layer of m old, roots and dirt mingo de los Colorados Pichincha Prov covering huge fallen trees. The logs h ad ince, Ecuador, at an altitude of about been in place for a co nsiderable length of 675 meters. The specimen was found in time, and '\>vere heavily overgrown by a thoroughly rotted, termite riddled log vines and roots that were in turn covered lying partly in a small stream in a brush by humus, detritus, and dirt, all forming choked ravine. The area is one of fairly a layer about fo ur to six inches thick . The heavy rain forest. The light areas of this area in which the logs were found was individual were bright yellow; the dark swampy, with the entire layer across the areas were coffee brown . Unfortunately, log very wet. The caecilians live in the the specimen cannot currently be located, detritus layer between it and the surface but a series of color photographs of it is of the log. The technique used fo r co llect available. ing the animals was to chop through the The species to which it probably belongs layer at two points about three feet apart. is E. bicolor, since there seems to be no Then a horizontal cut was m ade in the sign of the m arbling characteristic of E. layer lov,r on one side, and the entire layer mm··moratus. W e hesitate to assign it to then rolled across the Jog like a carpet. bicolor, however, since the specimen is not T he caecilians were exposed on the log available, and the locality from whence it surface as the layer rolled away from them, com es is almost the same as that for all and were easily picked up. On several known specimens of m an n oratus. occasions there were three or four indi viduals on a single log. C. orienta/is was E picrionops marmoratus T aylor fo und more frequently than E . p. petersi. Epicrionops marmora/us Taylor, The Caeciliam of This species is uniform browni sh in life. the W orld, 1968, pp. 205-209, figs. 98-101 ( type locality, Sanco Domingo de los Colorados, Picbincha ProYincc, Ecuador). Epicrionops sp. T he holotype and two paratypes are A larval specimen, JAP 6690, m easuring known. According to the notes of the 107 mm in total length, is from .Ni orena junior author, made while he was a Ful Santiago Province. bright Professor in residence in Quito, The tail length is 7 2 mm, the body Ecuador, the specimen EPN 3986 was col '\vidth 7 mm, the head width 3.2 mm. A lected on the road to Minda, Pichincha gill slit is present, rebtively la rge, with a Province, a locality somewhat more precise small diagonal Rap preceding, and one than that available to the senior author following, the diagonul opening . Preced at the time of publication of his mono j ng the slit are sm all gilJ filaments not yet graph. Minda is on the western A ndean absorbed. There is a la teral stripe, 1.8 to slopes at about 1400 meters, while the type 2.1 rn m wide, reaching from vent to head locality li es below it at about 670 meters. continued along the upper j:nv to below the eye, where it widens. W e do not Epicrionops petersi petersi T aylor discern a tentacular opening and presume Erunouops pNcrsJ pttcrsi T.1ylor, The Ca~:cd 1 a n s of that the tentacle has not yet perforated the th<.. World, 1968, pp. 22~-230, li g~ . 112- 11 () (typc surface. loc,dll', \gu:t Ric,t bc.:twt•cn Limon and Cualaceo, 6200 ft. [ 1908 m]). This specimen was caught by Peter THe CAECILIANs OF EcuADOR 337
Spoecker. I t was found under a rock in are premaxillary-m axillary, 24-1-24; pre an extremely moist area within a cleCtring vomeropalatine, 19-1-20; dentary, 24-24 ; for a "tCimbo" (inn) called Mirador, on splenial, 5-4+ . The terminal fin reaches the mule tr::ti l bet,veen Sevilla de Oro and a height of 3 mm. The terminal 10 mm Mendez. The altitude is approximately of the animal is unsegmented. The gen 1980 m, on the eastern slopes of the Andes. eral color of the specimen is brownish, T he general area is quite heavily forested, distinctly lighter on sides and venter; the although the slopes are precipitous, and edges of the folds are bordered by black the only cleared areas are found in the lines. immediate vicinity of tambos, so it seems The development of the enlarged clasp likely that this is a forest species. ing organ in the tai I of the m::tle, the When first caught, the specimen was character of body segmentation, and the uniform dark bro·wn. \iVhen it was killed reduced he::td size of this species seem to for preservati.on, however, the distinct warrant its recognition in the genus light yellow area appeared dorsolaterally. Potamotyphlus T aylor. Since we lack a number of adult char The black lines bordering the well acters and si nee we are unable to count defined fo lds, and the diminutive head accurately the annular folds, we hesitate of this aquatic species will likewise to place a name on the form. T he colora identify the female, although lacking the tion and markings, however, suggest that large clasping organ. it may be either Epicrionops subcaadalis or, not impossibly, E . laticaudalis, and Family Caeciliidae would thus represent a fourth species of This family is represented in Ecuador the genus for Ecuador. by four genera: Siphonops, Microcaecilia, F amily T yphlonectidae Oscaecilia, and Caecilia. T he last genus, the largest in numbers of species in South Of the four genera recognized in this America, has representatives of three of family (Typhlonectes, Clztlzonerpeton, the largest species of the order. There are Nectocaecz'lia, and Potamotyphlus), only approximately a dozen species known in Potamotyphlu.s is certainly known from Ecuador. Ecuador. One of us (T aylor, 1968) has recently proposed separating the family Caeciliidae Potamotyphlus l(attpii (Berthold) into two subfamilies, the Caeciliinae, Caecilia l(aupii Berthold, Nachr. Gesel. Gottingcn, composed of the large-toothed Caecilia 1859, p. I 81 (type-locality, Angostura f= Ciucl acl Boliva r], Venezuela). and Oscaecilia, and the remainder of the Potam otyplzlus l{aupii T aylor, The Caecili ans of th e genera in the subfamily Derm.ophiinae. World, 1968, pp. 257-263, figs. 130, 131. One specimen, USNivi 811 from "Puca Siphonops annulatus (Mikan) yacu entre Montalvo et Sarayacu R!o Caecilia ann11lata Mikan, Delectus florae et faunae Bobonaza, Pastaza P rovince, Ecuador," is Brasiliensis ... Vidabonae, 1820, folio, pl. II the only record of the species in Ecua (type-locality, Sebastianopolis, Brasil). Sip!J onops annulatus \Vagler, lsi:. von Oken, Band dorian waters known to us. 21 , Heft 7, 1828, p. 742 , pl. 10, figs. 1-2, Taylor, The following characters are evident: The Caecilians of the W orld, 1968, pp. 555-560, Length about 442 mm; body width about figs . 301, 30 1a, 302. 10.4 mm; body (compressed) height, 17.2 This species, the most widely distributed mm; head width, 8.2 mm. There are 93 form of the order known in South primaries and no secondaries. The teeth America, is confined to areas draining into 338 TnE UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS SciE rcE BuLLETIN the Atlantic or Caribbean. It is not known Oscaecilia bassleri T.t} lor, The Caecilians of the Worltl, 1968, pp. 600-605. figs. 327-330. in the Transandean regions draining into the Paci fie. The abiLity of the species T his species, originally described in the better to withstand desiccation seemingly genus Cuecilia, has been placed in the is responsible for this distribution since genus Oscaecili,t Taylor since the type it is reputedly found, at least occasionally, specimen differs from the other Ecua in relatively dry situations; also it would dorian species of the genus Caecllia in appear to utilize a somewhat greater having a solid skull with the eye pushed variety of food which also might be a close to the brain and covered with bone. factor. Three specimens of this species are The variation in statistical data and present in our material from Ecuador. color in the widespread populations is These are USNM 160368 from R1o relatively small. Cona1nbo, Pastaza; USNM 160369, head Our specimen, USNM 160367, from the waters of R io Bobonaza, Pastaza; and mouth of the R1o Copataza, Napo Pro JAP 7803, R!o Araj uno, Napo. vince, E cuador, shows the following char The species is known from n umerous actenstJcs: length 329 mm; body width, other localities. about 24.5 mm; width in length, approxi mately 13 times; primary folds, 92, com Oscaecilia equatorialis T aylor plete save for the terminal folds which Oscaccifia equatorialis Taylor, Uni,·. Kamas Sci. are incomplete above; premaxillary-maxil Rull., vol. 50, no. 5, 1973, pp. 221-22-l-, figs. 34- lary teeth, 14-1-14; prevomeropalatine, 36 (type-locality, Dyott Farm, Km 121 from Quito. 14-1-14; dentary, 12-12; no splenial teeth. 6 km east S
Caecilia orienta/is T a) lor, The Caecil ians of the Caecilia abitaguae Dunn Work!, 1968, pp. -1 17--125. fi g~ . 220. 22-l, 22-la ( typ e- l oca li t~· , La Boni ta, N apo Province, Ecuador, Caecilia abitaguae Dunn, Bull. M us. Com p. Zoo!. ele\·a tion 1935 m ) . H an·ard College, vol. 91. 19 -12 , pp. 508-509 (typ e locality, Abitagu a, Pastaza Province, Ecuador. 11 00 As stated in the type-description of this m elevation ) . species, the material obtained by the junior This species fo r a co nsiderable time has author in Ecuador represents two popula been known from only the type and two tions that seem to differ chiefly in the topotypic paratypes. It is a very large presence of a fe\v incomplete rows of scales species, reaching a known length of 1200 posteriorly. In one lot, obtained for the most part nea r the head\vater of Rio mm and a diameter of about 22 mn1. T ay lor (1968) has rece ntly reported two Aguarico at La Bonita, Napo Province, more specimens that differ from the type. 1935 m elevation and La Alegria, Ri'o Chingsac, most of the specimens have a One of these is from near the type-loca lity but it lacks traces of secondary folds. few sca les in the termjnal fo lds. N o trace of scales is to be discovered in the second The seco nd specimen was taken on the Cordillera del Condo r at an elevation of lot from Baeza and Borj a in th e upper 1280 m, Morena-Santiago, Ecuador. This drainage of the Rl'o Napa in the province is also a large specimen, 990 mm in length. of Napo. The first lot, however, has certain specin1ens also lacking these scales. USN M 160350 varies from the norm of Caecilia bol(ermanni T ay lor coloration in hav ing light areas on the Caecilia bol(ermanui T aylo r, The Caecilia ns of the sides, almost co ntig uous so th at there is W o rld , 1968, pp. 359-363, figs. l 8R-1 90 ( type an indefinite light stripe, vaguely broken locality, Chichcrota, Rio Bobonaza, N apo Pastaza Province, Ecuador) . at the folds si nee the grooves marking the primaries are slightly darker than the stri pe In this type-descri ption the type is stated that extends from the lower jaw to near the to be No. 234 which presumably was a terminus of the body. USN:Nf 159792 has .field number. When entered into the the ventrolateral regions distinctl y lighter EHT-HMS Collection the number give n than the dorsum, each fo ld hav ing ome was 4581, and figures 189 and 190 are so what irreg ular dim spots reaching from numbered. Both bgures are of the same midway on the sides to the venter and . spee1men. separated from each other by a darker A second specimen, EH T -H MS 10906, slate-gray line. acquired from Ecuador is apparently :1 The habitat fo r this species is the s ~un e topotype. as that (or Epicrionops petersi petersi The following characters obtain (the (q .v.). Caecilia orienta/is is co nsiderably itali cized data are from the type; mea more common than E. p. petersi, how surements in mm): Length, 325, 527; ever, and was co llected in several addi body width, 4.8, 10.2; body height, 6.3, ?; tio nal places. We took them under rocks primary folds, 190, 192; second ari es, 16, 15; in the ya rds of houses, and un der small er premaxillary-maxillary teeth, 6-1-7, 10-70; logs in very wet pasture land. In the btter prevomeropalatine tee th, 8-1-8, 8-1-8; clen case, th e animals seemed to prefer the ta ry teeth, 8-R, 10-10; spleni <1 l Leeth, 2-2, weuesl logs and were often in th e mud 2-2; width in length, 67.5 times , 51.5 times. under the logs. T hey burrowed into a log THE C AECILIANS OF E cuADOR 341
11 Ftc. 1. CaeC/ . ,za. orze111a· 1·ts T ay 1o r. p ara t ype. JAP , c:~J~_, J. La Alegria, Rio Chin.o-oac,::. "elevation 6248 ft." Do r ~a l. lateral and ventral ,·icws of head and n eck regio n; dorsal and ve ntral views of terminal region. only when it was very rotten, pulpy, and Caecilia disossea Taylor, The Caccilians of the extremely wet. World, 1968, pp. 374-378, figs . 196, 197 (type loca lity, mouth of the Rio Santiago, Peru) (a para T he ani mal is a solid blue color in life. type of Caecilia bass/eri). The electrocardiogram of this species T wo specimens were collected from the was described in some detail by Peters and eastern Ecuadorian slopes; one, USNM Mullen (1966) under the name Caecilia 160364, from Rio Pucun6, Napo Province; guentheri (W. Peters) . one, USNM 160366 ~ , from Cabeceras del Rio Napo, Napo Province, Ecuador. Caecilia crassisquama T ay lor
Caecilia crassisquama T aylor, The Caecilians of the Caecilia dunni H ershkovitz World, 196 , pp. 369-370, fig. 193 ( type-locality, Caecilia dunni Hershkovirz, Occ. Papers Mus. Zoo l. Normand!a, Zunia, Rio Upano, Ecuador, 1400-1800 U. Michigan, No. 370, 1938, p. 2, fig. I (type m elevation; eastern slope of the Andes, Ama localit\' near T ena Napo Province, Ecuador, 1700 ' ' , zonian drainage). ft. elevation). Dunn, Bull. Mus. Comp. Zoo!. This large species lacks traces of second H arvard College, vol. 91. no. 6, 19-12, p. 500. T avlor. ' The Caecilia ns of the World, 1968, pp. aries, but has bony, inflexible scales in the 378-381. posterior fo lds. Practically all folds are Dunn recorded a second Ecuadorian incomplete above and below. A lateral specimen, Bl\!1NH 98.3 .1 , Cachabe, N .W. yellowish stripe is present. It is known Ecuador, that was reputed to have only 38 only from the type-locality. secondaries. Neither of us has examined this specimen. Caecilia disossea T aylor Caecilia bassleri Dunn (part.), Bu ll. Mus. Comp. Caecilia nig ricans Boulenger Zool. H an·an.l College. \'01. 9 1, 19-12, pp. 518-5 19 (excluding specimens wi th eye sockets) . Caeci/ia nigricans Bou lcnger, Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist., 342 T HL UN IV!:.R IT Y OF K Ai'.!>A!> S c u :.NCL BuLLE TIN
~cr. i . Yo!. 9, 1902, p. 51 (type-locality. Rio L it <~, Occasional scales may be fo lded or .WOO ft. cit:\ auon, nonhwe\L b :uador [PaCific krinkled. dr.tinage J). This in divid ual was found dead on th e This Yef) l.trge species ranges along the road at about 2:30 p.m. on a dark day Pacific Andean slope and coast of northern during a drizzling rain. The road was Ecuador and Colombia; in th e cuenca o( under co nstruction at th e time, through the Rio Atrato; and extends in to eastern an area of forest at about 1500 m altitude, Darien, Panam.l . Pres umabl y it is con and there was a considerable amount of fined to these Pacific and Caribbea n drain debris and trash scattered about on both age areas. sides of th e road. The forest in th e area O ne specimen, JAP 8257, co ll ec ted about was newly cleared. 10 krn north of Mindo on the road to The specimen was uniform dark brown P uerto Quito, Ecuador, has th e following wh en picked up. characters: Length, approximately 800 mm; body wi dth, 24 mm tapering to 19 Caecilia albiventris D audin mm nea r terminus; width in length, about (Fig. 2) 33 times; prim ~H Y fo ld s, 133; secondary Caecilia all>il'l'lllris Daudin, H i\toire Naturelle •l n· fo lds, 16. Scale rows, 1 in each fold, irregu eralle et Paniculere des RcptJit:,, \ OI. I. I 02, pp. lar posteriorl y; scales begin about 40th 423--126, pl. 92, fig . 1 (type-locality. " urinam"). fo ld; subdermal scales prese nt; eye in Until rece ntly this form has been placed ~oc k e t. as a sy nonym of what is now rega rd ed as
The head has bee n injured and the den Caecilia tentaculata L innae us. T ay, lor tition of the upper jaw is not known. The (1972) , however, h as rece ntly re urrec tcd dentary teeth are 11-(11) wi th numbers 1, albiventris and fi gures are given. It i ~ .1 3, and 5 functi oning, indica ting group loss wide-s pread species, occ urring from Dutch and replacement of the teeth. The splenials Guiana to Ecuador. n re 3-2. We fi g ure a specimen, U Nl 111 96H , The larger scales posteri orl y are leath ery from Santa Cecili a, apo Pro\'ince, 340 and reach a diamete r a little above 3 mm. m elevati on.
F1<•. 2 Caecilta ai/Ju wtris D.1Ud 111 . U$ '1 ~1 ILI IJG!L S.tnta Cecti 1J, ~ .lpo . 1 l: U F1c. 3. Caecilia tentaculata Lin n acu ~ . j.\ P 2066. T\\'O km E Vera Cruz, Pastaza, Ecu.Hior, ".3300 ft. elev." Do r~al (left) a nd ,·cntral (right) va cw !> . T he p hoto a t right i:. much lig hter than the actual lagh t slate color of the ventral surface. Caecilia tentaculata Lin naeus following data (nos. 2066 and 160370, re (Fig . 3) spectively) : L ength, approximately 102), Caecilia tenram lata Linnaeus (part.), System a 510 mm; bod y width, 32, 17 mm; width ra curac, cd. 10, 175 8, p. 229 ( t} r e-locality, in length, 32, 28 times; primary folds, 124, "Amcn ca" [ Surinam]). T aylor, The C.tectlians of the W orld, 196 , J1P· -1-12--1-18. fi g\. 236-238. 123 ; secondary folds, 62, 57; scales begin about 30th, 34th fo ld; scale rows com plete This species seerningly has a wide or partial, 1, 1; subdermal scales, none range. It has been reported throug hout found in either; eye vi sible in socket in northern South America (Surinam, V ene both; teeth: premaxill ary-maxillary, 11-1- zuela, Colombia, E cuador and perhaps 11, 12-1-12; prevomeropalatine, 11-1-11, Peru). C. albiventris D aud in has long 10-1-10; dentary, 10-11, 13-13 ; spleni al, 3-3, been placed in the sy nonymy of this 2- (?). species. The type of D audin's species had JAP 2066 was fo und lying beside a trail a length o[ "1 pied, 8 pouc, 5 li gn " (ap made of small logs laid crosswi se, often proxjmately 498 mm). The type catalog ue with standing water between the logs, of the Paris Museum (Guibc, Catalogue and had obviously i ust been hit with a des types d'amphibiens du Museum Na m ~K h e t e a few moments before. Since the tional d'H istoire Naturell e, without date) time of collecti on was shortlv before noon, records o. 40 as the type of Caecilia ' the animal had been out and crawling on albiventris D audin. T his spec imen mea the surface during the day. The area is sures 620 mm, a difference of :1pproxi one of he:.w y tropical rain forest. mately 120 mm. This fact throws some The animal w:1s fairl y uniform light doubt on th is specimen as the type of blue when fo und. albiventris D audin. Our two specimens (US JM 160370, Caecilia sp. Upper Rio Bobonaza, Pastaza Province, and J AP 2066, 2 km east of V era Cruz, A male specimen, J AP 1931, Pichincha Pastaza Province, 1006 m) provide the P ro vi nee, is left unidcnti ned. This pre- 3-H T1t1 L':-;I\LRSITY oF K \~'>.\'> CILXCE BcLLETIX sents the following d:1u: Total length, 633 of the body. There is a seri es of yellowish mm; width of body (.wet".tgc) , 11 mm; spots on the sides-a pair on ench fold. g reatest width of head, ~ mm; eye to The tentacle is below the nostril and the tent.lcle. 3.7 mm: tenL1cle to nostril, 1.2 C)'CS are in sockets. mm; first collar with a dorsal :md ventral It is possible th~tt they are related to tr.ll1'>\'t:r<;L groo\'t: second colla r with a C. attenuata, a Peruvian form from un dors.tl tr.ms,·erse groove. fused ventrally known specific locality (vide supra) . They ~ . " i d1 the first primary. agree in having a Ltint line of lateral spots, Prim.1rv folds, b~ ..til folds seeminglv the grooves between them darker. The • L ' com pletc; 5 or 6 sho rt irreg ular secondary general brownish color of the bod)' of fo lds, none complete. Sc:tlcs in posterior attenuata may be clue to preservntion; the p.1rt; tK \'er more than one row of scn les prim::try folds are l Xo-192 (as compared w in .1 fold; eve in a socket. twt Yisible ex- • our specimens \\'ith 211-215) . C. attenuata rern.dh . The tentacle belo\\' and slighth· has no scales, while sc.tles are present in . ~ . behind nostril . The p.tlme and jaws arc our specimens. The \\'idth in length of b.tel l) damaged; the teeth, however, can attenuata is 6?-66 ti mcs, in o ur specimens, he co un ted as follows: prem:1xi ll ary-mnx il X6-90 times. lary, 10-1-11 ; prevomcropabtine, 10-1-11 ; Compared with pacl1ynema, a species clcntary, 10-10; spleni~tl, 3-3. known to occur on the western slope, This individual wac; picked up in a there is a d i fferencc of more than 50 pri road.,iclc ditch in the town of Chiriboga, marv folds; occasionallv a few secondari es . ' at 1 Xo~ meters elevation. It had been arc present in pacl1ynema in which case ki li ed prior to collection, probably on the a few scales m ay be present also. road, :mel had deterior:tted slightly when D ata from these specimens, JAP 3531 found. The general are:1 is one of fo rest :lll cl 3532, res pect i \'C I y, follow ( m e:1s u rc ancl cle:1red forest, with p:1rts sti ll fairly mcnu; in m m) : T ot a I length, 644, 495; hc:tvi Iy wooded. T he cnti re are:1 was very width of head, 7.5, 7.1 ; width of body, wet rather constnntly during the rain y 7.5, 5.5; width in length, R6, 90 times ; seclSOn. pre.mal width. 6, 4. i; eye to tentacle, 3.2, 3; tentacle to no tri I. 1.2, 1; first and second Caecilia atL enuata TavlorJ collars each with ,1 dorsal tr~1ns,· e r sc g roove ; primary folds, 211, 215; seconcl Cwulw atttnuata Taylor. Th~.. C.lci: Ji lJns o f thl \Vorl d. I%8. pp. 358-359 (type locality, Peru). arics, 0, 0. The eyes of both :1rc in sockets bUl arc A recent specimen of thi ~ species i~ not visible e~ t c rn : tl l y , e\ ccpt for a sli g htly KUlviN I I 143556, co ll ected by Bruce l i~hter ~Hea above them . .M cBndc 10.4 km 1' of Santa Rosa, l'apo, ' The dentition is prcm.l\illary-ma'l:illary 1·-eu,tdor .mel reported by T .tylor (1973) . series, 9-1-8, 9-1-X; pre\'omeropalatinc, 10-1 10, 10-1-10; dentary, 9 1 ~ 9, 11-10; spleni .t l. Caecdia sp. 2-2, ~ - 2 . Scales .1re prec;ent in ~1t least the Two specimens from Circ'm, Azuay last L\\ o ce ntimeters of the body prccccli ng ProvinLe, at 2110 m eter~ elcv.1 tion on the the vcnl. The un!>eg mented terminal P.tCI ric slope of Ecu.ldor ofTer eli fncuiLicc; "shield" is rci.lti\'clv elonn,ue. . {:-. in finding the propcr ..,pecics with which These t \\'O '> jK'Ci mens \\'ere found to- to associate them. The\ h,t\ t. ,1 Ltrgt. gether under ~l single rock in soh muck, ' ' lllllnhcr of pnm.tr) fold.., (.thme 200) ..md in .t cleared, comp.tr.lli\'cly level .trca of lack ..,econd.1ries, but h,l\ c scales pru;cnt "Pring ~ccp.tgc . 1 he \\'hole are.l \\'.lS \'cry in the two or three tcrm1n.d Lenti rn eterli '' u ,md ~po n gy, .md there were scvcr:tl THE CAECILIANs OF EcuADOR 345 small standing pools of water. The sur PARKER, H. W. 1934. Reptiles and a m phibians rounding region '>"iras dry, with the veget:J from w uthern Ecuador. Ann. Nbg. Nat. Hist., ser. 10, vol. l-1, rp. 26~-273. tion consisting of scattered trees, low PET£Rs, J. A., AND R. K. Muu.E:-<. 1966. Electro shrubs, agave fences and occasional cacti. cardiography in Caeci!ia guentlzeri. Physiol. In life, these animals are almost totall y Zool., vol. 39, pp. 193-201. TAYLOR, E. H. 1968. The Caecilian~ of the World: jet black. A small region of the belly is a Taxonomic Revie""· Univ. Kamas Press, purplish-white. In preservation they are Lawrence, Kansas , 848 pp., 425 fig~. now dark slate-gray dors~:dly with a lighter ---. 1972. Squama ti on in caeci lians, with an atlas of sca l e~ . Univ. K::~n sas Sci. Bull., vol. spot low on the sides. There is a grayish 49, no. 13, p[1. 989-11 64, figs. 1-127. ventr::d stripe; laterally the folds are edged ---. 1973. A caecilian rniscel la n-\'. Univ. Kansas in slate-gray. Sci. Bull., vol. 50, no. 5, pp. 187-231, figs. 1-39. Caecilia subterminalis Taylor Caeci!ia suhterminalis Taylor, The Caeeilians of the World, 1968, pp. 437-442 , fi g~ . 232-235 (type loGdity, "Ecuador"). This specimen was obtained by exchange with Prof. Orces of the Escuela Politech nica Nacional, Quito, Ecuador. It is clearly marked by a continuous lateral cream stripe the length of the body. l Caecdia tenuissima Taylor \ (Fig. 4) \ Caecilia teuuissima T aylor. Univ. Kansas Sci. Bull., ,·ol. 50, no. 5, 1973, pp. 219-221, figs. 32, 33 ( rypc-locality, Guayaquil, Ecuador) . Only the type, USNM 12353, is known. LITERATURE CITED DuNN, E. R. 19-1 2. The American caecilians. Bull. Mus. Comp. Zool. Han-ard College, vol. 9 1, F1c. 4. Caecilia tentllSSJma Taylor. X-ray o£ type, no. 6, pp. 439-550. USNM 12353. 186 folds; 191 vertebrae.