''Crotaphatrema tchabalmbaboensis'' is a species of

caecilian Caecilians (; ) are a group of limbless, vermiform (worm-shaped) or serpentine (snake-shaped) amphibians with small or sometimes nonexistent eyes. They mostly live hidden in soil or in streambeds, and this cryptic lifestyle renders caecilians ...

in the family

Scolecomorphidae The Scolecomorphidae (from , 'wormlike' and , 'form') are a family of caecilians also known as tropical caecilians, buried-eyed caecilians, or African caecilians. They are found in Cameroon in West Africa, and Malawi and Tanzania in East Africa ...

, the tropical or African caecilians. It was discovered in 1997 on Mount Tchabal Mbabo in the

Adamawa Plateau The Adamawa Plateau () is a plateau region in west-central Africa stretching from south-eastern Nigeria through north-central Cameroon ( Adamawa and North Provinces) to the Central African Republic. The part of the plateau that lies in Nigeria i ...

, western

Cameroon Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon, is a country in Central Africa. It shares boundaries with Nigeria to the west and north, Chad to the northeast, the Central African Republic to the east, and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the R ...

, and described as a new species to science in 2000. Three specimens were collected at the type locality, and no individuals have been observed since.

Description

This caecilian, the third species in the genus '' Crotaphatrema'', is differentiated from the others by size, body shape, color pattern, and the lack of grooves on its collars. The

type series In biology, a type is a particular specimen (or in some cases a group of specimens) of an organism to which the scientific name of that organism is formally associated. In other words, a type is an example that serves to anchor or centralizes t ...

consists of two adult females measuring in total length, and a subadult female measuring . The body width is . The eyes are not visible externally. The dorsum is blue- black and the venter is cream. The border between the dorsal and ventral coloration has a serrated pattern.

Habitat and conservation

The species is known only from the northern face of one mountain, where it was collected from forests on steep, sloping terrain at

above sea level Height above mean sea level is a measure of a location's vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) in reference to a vertical datum based on a historic mean sea level. In geodesy, it is formalized as orthometric height. The zero level ...

. It is not known if it can survive in the surrounding heavily grazed pastureland. Mount Tchabal Mbabo has been proposed as a national park, which provide protection for the species' forest habitat.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2705960 tchabalmbaboensis Amphibians of Cameroon Endemic fauna of Cameroon Amphibians described in 2000 Taxonomy articles created by Polbot