Scolecomorphidae is the family

Family (biology)

In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...

 of tropical caecilians (Frost) or African caecilians (ITIS). They are found in Cameroon

Cameroon

Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon , is a country in west Central Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west; Chad to the northeast; the Central African Republic to the east; and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the Republic of the Congo to the south. Cameroon's coastline lies on the...

 in west Africa, and Malawi

Malawi

The Republic of Malawi is a landlocked country in southeast Africa that was formerly known as Nyasaland. It is bordered by Zambia to the northwest, Tanzania to the northeast, and Mozambique on the east, south and west. The country is separated from Tanzania and Mozambique by Lake Malawi. Its size...

 and Tanzania

Tanzania

The United Republic of Tanzania is a country in East Africa bordered by Kenya and Uganda to the north, Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west, and Zambia, Malawi, and Mozambique to the south. The country's eastern borders lie on the Indian Ocean.Tanzania is a state...

 in east Africa. Caecilian

Caecilian

The caecilians are an order of amphibians that superficially resemble earthworms or snakes. They mostly live hidden in the ground, making them the least familiar order of amphibians. All extant caecilians and their closest fossil relatives are grouped as the clade Apoda. They are mostly...

s are legless amphibian

Amphibian

Amphibians , are a class of vertebrate animals including animals such as toads, frogs, caecilians, and salamanders. They are characterized as non-amniote ectothermic tetrapods...

s which superficially resemble worms or snakes.

Scolecomorphids have only vestigial eyes, which are attached to the base of a pair of tentacles underneath the snout. Unlike other caecilians, they have only primary annuli; these are grooves running incompletely around the body, giving the animal a segmented appearance. All other caecilians have a complex pattern of grooves, with secondary or tertiary annuli present. Also uniquely amongst caecilians, the scolecomorphids lack a stapes bone in the middle ear.

At least some species of scolecomorphid give birth to live young, retaining the eggs inside the female's body until they hatch into fully formed offspring, without the presence of a free-living larval stage.

Taxonomy

There are just five known species of scolecomorphid, grouped into two genera, as follows:

Family Scolecomorphidae

• Genus Crotaphatrema (Nussbaum, 1985).
  • Crotaphatrema bornmuelleri
    Crotaphatrema bornmuelleri
    Crotaphatrema bornmuelleri is a species of caecilian in the Scolecomorphidae family.It is endemic to Cameroon.Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests, plantations, rural gardens, and heavily degraded former forest....
    
    (Werner, 1899), "Bornmuller’s Caecilian," Cameroon.
  • Crotaphatrema lamottei
    Crotaphatrema lamottei
    Crotaphatrema lamottei is a species of caecilian in the Scolecomorphidae family.It is endemic to Cameroon.Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist montanes, rural gardens, and heavily degraded former forest.-Source:...
    
    (Nussbaum, 1981), "Mont Oku Caecilian," Cameroon.
  • Crotaphatrema tchabalmbaboensis
    Crotaphatrema tchabalmbaboensis
    Crotaphatrema tchabalmbaboensis is a species of caecilian in the Scolecomorphidae family.It is endemic to Cameroon.Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist montanes and subtropical or tropical high-altitude grassland.-Source:...
    
    (Lawson, 2000), Cameroon.
• Genus Scolecomorphus (Boulenger, 1883)
  • Scolecomorphus kirkii
    Scolecomorphus kirkii
    Scolecomorphus kirkii is a species of caecilian in the Scolecomorphidae family.It is found in Malawi and Tanzania.Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests, subtropical or tropical moist montanes, plantations , rural gardens, urban areas, and heavily degraded former...
    
    (Boulenger, 1883), "Lake Tanganyika Caecilian," East Africa.
  • Scolecomorphus uluguruensis
    Scolecomorphus uluguruensis
    Scolecomorphus uluguruensis is a species of caecilian in the Scolecomorphidae family.It is endemic to Tanzania.Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist montanes, rural gardens, and heavily degraded former forest.-References:...
    
    ( Barbour and Loveridge, 1928), "Nyingwa Caecilian," Tanzania.
  • Scolecomorphus vittatus
    Scolecomorphus vittatus
    Scolecomorphus vittatus is a species of caecilian in the Scolecomorphidae family.It is endemic to Tanzania.Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests, subtropical or tropical moist montanes, plantations , rural gardens, and heavily degraded former forest.-References:*...
    
    ((Boulenger, 1895), "Banded Caecilian," Tanzania.