REVISION OFTHE AFRICAN CAEClLlAN GENUS SCHISTOMETOPUM PARKER (AMPH IBIA: CYMNOPHIONA: CAECILI IDAE) BY RONALD A. NU AND MICHAEL E. PFRENDER MISCELLANEC JS PUBLICATIONS MUSEUM OF ZOOLOGY, UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN, NO. 18Fb; ' Ann Arbor, September 2 7, 1 998 ISSN 076-8405 MIS(:ELIANEOUS PUBLICATIONS MUSEUM OF ZOOLOGY, LJNTVERSITY OF MICHIGAN NO. 187 The publicatioils of the M~~sclunof Zoology, The [Jniversity of Michigan, consist PI-irnarilyof two series-the Occasion:~lPapers allti the Miscellaneous Publicatio~ls.Both series were founded by Dc Bryant Walker, Mr. Rradshaw H. Swales, anti Dr. W.W. Newcornb. Occasionally the Museuni publishes contributiorls outside of these series; begirlnirlg in 1990 these are titled Special Publicatio~lsa~ld arc numbered. All submitted ~n;inl~scriptsreceive external review. 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RECENT PUK1,ICATIONS Webb, S.A. a~rdR.R. Millen 1998. Zoogonetict~stequila, a new goodeid fish ((:yprinodontiformes) fi-om the Arneca drainage of Mexico, ;~nda rediagnosis of the gcnus. Occ. I'ap. 725. 23 pp, 5 figs. $2.00. N~~ssbaum,R.A., C:J. Raxworthy, and 0. Prorik. 1998. The ghost geckos of Madagascar: a furthur revision of the Malagasy leal'toed geckos (Kcptilia, Squamava, Gekkonidac) . Misc. Pl~bl.186. 26 pp., 25 figs., 5 tables. $9.00. Dyer; B.S. 1997. Phylogenetic Revision of Atherinopsinae (Teleostri, Atlieri~lopsidac),with <;om- lllerlts on the Systenlatics of the So11th American Freshwater Fish Genus Ba.~ilich/hysGirard. Misc. P~tbl.185. 64 pp., 46 figs. $15.00. O<:onnol; R.M., R.K. Colwell, and S. NaCeln. 1996. The Flowel- Mites of Trinidad 111: 'l3e Gerll~s Kl~inoseius(Acari: Ascidac). Misc. Pllbl. 184. 82 pp, 70 figs. $10.00. IUuge, A.G., and R.A. Nussbauln. 1995. A Review Of Afi-ican-Madagasca~~Gckkonid Lizard Phylog- eny And Biogeography (Squa~nara).Misc. Publ. 183. 20 pp, I1 figs. $8.50. Kohlf, F:]. & 17.1,. Kookstei~l(eds.). 1990. Proceedings of the Michigan Morplion~etricsWorkshop. Spec. Ptrbl. 2. 380 pp. With software, $25.00. Without soft~rarc,$17.50. Alexande~;R.D. 1990. How did humans evolve? Reflections on the u~liquclylnliqlre species. Sprc. Publ. 1. 88 pp. $4.00. Raxwortlly, C.J. Xc R.A. Nussbaum. 1994. A review of the Madagascan Snake (;enera heudoxyrhoflus, Pamrf~,adinara,and Heteroliodon (Squamata: C:olubridae). Misc. Publ. 182. 37 pp, 25 figs. $1 1.50. Gosline, W.A. 1993. A sur-vey of' upperjaw nlrlsculature in higher- teleostean fislies. Occ. Pap. 721. 26 pp, 9 figs. $2.20. Duellman, W.E. &J.A. Campbell. 1992. Hylid frogs of'tlle genus Woclro/iyln: Systr~naticsand phyloge- netic relationsl~ips.Misc. Publ. 181. 88 pp, 21 figs. $9.10. McKitrick, M.C. 1991. Phylogenetic analysis of avian hindlimb musculature. Misc. Publ. 179. 89 pp, 3 figs. $9.60. Kluge, A.G. 1991. Koine snake phylogeny and research cycles. Misc. l'ut~l. 178. 62 pp, 14 figs. $6.00. THE WGENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY Laurence B. Deitch, Bloon~fieldHills Daniel D. Homing, (;rand Maven Olivia P. Maynartl, Goodrich Shirley M. McFee, Battle Creek Rebecca Mc<;owan, An11 AI-bor Andrea Fischer Newman, Ann Arbor Philip H. Power, Ann Arbor S. Martin Taylor, Grossc Pointe Farms Lee C. Bolliilger, ex oflicio Revision Of The African Caecilian Genus Schistometopum Parker (Amphibia: Gymnophiona: Caeciliidae) Ronald A. Nussbaurn Division of Herpetology Museum of Zoology The University of Michigan Ann Arbor, Michigan 481 09-1079, USA and Michael E. Pfrender Department of Biology University of Oregon Eugene, Oregon 97403 MISCELLANEOUS PUBLICATIONS MUSEUM OF ZOOLOGY, UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN, NO. 18'7 Ann Arbor, September 27, 1998 ABSTRACT Nus,sbn~u~m,K. A. and M. E. P'frcnder. 1998. Rr~isioizq/' the Ajrican caccilic~ngrizus Schistometopum l'nrlier (AmphiOicl: Cgrr~nophiona:Caeciliidne). Misc. Publ. Mus. Zool. Univ. Michigan 187:l-32, 15/igs., 15 tables, 2 color plates. We revised African caecilians of the cacciliid genus Sclzistornetopum Parker based on univariate and multivariate analyses of morphometric characters and coloration. S. brevzrostrr (Peters) and S. cpl~eleTaylor,arcjunior synonyms of S. thvmense (Barboza du Bocage), and S. garzonhqdti Taylor and Salvador is a junior synonym of Geotrypetes srraphini (A. Durniril). The two valid species oS Schistometopum occur on opposite sides of the African continent: S. grrgorii (Boulengcr) in coastal Kenya and Tanzania, and S. thomense on S5o Tom6 island in the Gulf of Guinea. Two records for S. thomenseon Principe Island and in the Ruwenzori region of central, equatorial MI-ica arc problematic and require verisication. Geographic variation in color and morphometric characters of S. thomense is pronounced and is remarkable considering the small range ofthis species on an island with seemingly uniforrn habitat. The discovery of pronounced, clinal, microgeographic variation in S. thomense and the erroneous taxonomic concl~~sionsderived from it by Taylor is viewed as a strong argument against the trend to elevate "diagnosable" allopatric populations to species status without careful study both in the Geld and in the laboratory. Significant sexual dimorphism in head size is documented for both species oS Schistometopum, with males having the larger heads in both cases. This same pattern of' sexual dimorphism in head size is known for other caecilian species. Sexual dimorphism in head size may result from selection for sexual resource partitioning or for male combat advantage or both. Scarring and fresh bite marks on individuals from both field and laboratory populations suggest that combat may be part of the sociobiology of S. thomense, but the context of this aggression is unknown. S. thom~n,seis abundant in disturbed habitats and does not appear to be threatened with extinction. S. gregoriiwas also abundant in anthropogenic habitats in 1934, but the species has not sincc been reported. Key words: Gymnophiona, Caeciliidae, Schisto.metopum, Systematics, Africa. CONTENTS PAGE Illti-oduction ........................................................................................................................................................ 1 Acknowledgments ............................................................................................................................................... 1 Materials and Methods ...................................................................................................................................... 1 Nomenclatural History ...................................................................................................................................... 3 Status of Schistometopum thomense and S . ephele .........................................................................................5 Coloration ........................................................................................................................................................ 5 Morphometric and meristic comparisons ................................................................................................... 6 Taxollomic conclusions .................................................................................................................................. 8 Statlis of Schistornetopum brevirostre ............................................................................................................ 8 Status of Schistometopum garzonheydti ...................................................................................................... 10 Status of Schistornetopum gregorii ..............................................................................................................20 Synopsis .............................................................................................................................................................. 25 Schistometopunc Parkcr .................................................................................................................................... 25 Schisto?nelopum gregorii (Boulenger) ............................................................................................................ 25 Schislo~netopumthomense (Bocage) ............................................................................................................... 26 Discussion .......................................................................................................................................................... 29 Literature Cited ................................................................................................................................................ 31 ILLUSTRATIONS FIGUFU? PAGE Cover illustration: skull of Schislometopum