Dermophiidae Taylor, 1969

Class: Amphibia > Order: Gymnophiona > Family: Dermophiidae
15 species

Dermophiinae Taylor, 1969, Univ. Kansas Sci. Bull., 48: 610. Type genus: Dermophis Peters, 1880 "1879".

DermophiidaeLaurent, 1986, in Grassé and Delsol (eds.), Traite de Zool., 14: 599; Wilkinson, San Mauro, Sherratt, and Gower, 2011, Zootaxa, 2874: 3.

Geotrypetoidae Lescure, Renous, and Gasc, 1986, Mem. Soc. Zool. France, 43: 162. Type genus: Geot rypetes Peters, 1880. Coined as an epifamily. Synonymy by Wilkinson, San Mauro, Sherratt, and Gower, 2011, Zootaxa, 2874: 3, 46.

Gymnopiilae Lescure, Renous, and Gasc, 1986, Mem. Soc. Zool. France, 43: 168. Type genus: Gymnopis Peters, 1874. Coined as an infrafamily. Synonymy by Wilkinson, San Mauro, Sherratt, and Gower, 2011, Zootaxa, 2874: 3.

Dermophiinia — Dubois, Ohler, and Pyron, 2021, Megataxa, 5: 270. Infratribe. 

Dermophiinoa — Dubois, Ohler, and Pyron, 2021, Megataxa, 5: 270. Hypotribe. 

Geotrypetinoa — Dubois, Ohler, and Pyron, 2021, Megataxa, 5: 270. Hypotribe. 

Common Names

Neotropical and Tropical African Caecilians (Vitt and Caldwell, 2014, Herpetology, 4th Ed.: 455). 

Distribution

Southern Mexico through Central America to northwestern Colombia; tropical West Africa; Tanzania and Kenya.

Comment

Delimited and recognized by Wilkinson, San Mauro, Sherratt, and Gower, 2011, Zootaxa, 2874: 41–64, to include Dermophis, Geotrypetes, Gymnopis, and Schistometopum. Pyron and Wiens, 2011, Mol. Phylogenet. Evol., 61: 543–583 (see comment in Amphibia record) on the basis of molecular evidence confirmed the monophyly of Dermophiidae. Blackburn and Wake, 2011, In Zhang (ed.), Zootaxa, 3148: 39–55, briefly reviewed the taxonomic history of this taxon. San Mauro, Gower, Cotton, Zardoya, Wilkinson, and Massingham, 2012, Syst. Biol., 61: 661–674, suggested that Dermophiidae is the sister taxon of Siphonopidae. Maddin, Russell, and Anderson, 2012, Zool. J. Linn. Soc., 166: 160–201, reported on the braincase of the family and confirmed the sister-taxon status of Dermophiidae and Siphonopidae. Vitt and Caldwell, 2014, Herpetology, 4th Ed., provided a summary of range, diagnosis, life history, and taxonomy.  Frétey, Dewynter, and Blanc, 2011, Clé de détermination, Amph. Afri. Centr. Angola: 1–232, provided a key for identification in Gabon and Equatorial Guinea. Dubois, Ohler, and Pyron, 2021, Megataxa, 5: 1–738, treated Dermophiidae as a infratribe of a very enlarged Caeciliidae, although the need for this rank modification is unclear.

Contained taxa (15 sp.):

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.