''Oscaecilia osae'' is a species of

caecilian Caecilians (; ) are a group of limbless, vermiform or serpentine amphibians. They mostly live hidden in the ground and in stream substrates, making them the least familiar order of amphibians. Caecilians are mostly distributed in the tropics of ...

in the family

Caeciliidae Caeciliidae is the family of common caecilians. They are found in Central and South America. Like other caecilians, they superficially resemble worms or snakes. Although they are the most diverse of the caecilian families, the caeciliids do ha ...

. It is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found elsew ...

Costa Rica Costa Rica (, ; ; literally "Rich Coast"), officially the Republic of Costa Rica ( es, República de Costa Rica), is a country in the Central American region of North America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the no ...

and is only known from the Golfo Dulce area, on the Pacific Ocean side of Costa Rica. The

specific name Specific name may refer to: * in Database management systems, a system-assigned name that is unique within a particular database In taxonomy, either of these two meanings, each with its own set of rules: * Specific name (botany), the two-part (bino ...

''osae'' refers to its type locality, the airstrip at La Sirena, being located on the

Osa Peninsula The Osa Peninsula ( es, Península de Osa) is a peninsula located in southwestern Costa Rica, in the Puntarenas Province, with the Pacific Ocean to the west and the Golfo Dulce to the east. The peninsula was formed geologically by a faulting sy ...

. It is also known as the airstrip caecilia or airstrip caecilian.

Description

The

holotype A holotype is a single physical example (or illustration) of an organism, known to have been used when the species (or lower-ranked taxon) was formally described. It is either the single such physical example (or illustration) or one of several ...

, an adult female, measures in total length. The body is highly attenuated; the body width is . The eyes are not visible. The primary annulus count is high (232), whereas the secondary annuli are completely absent. Scales are small and present from the primary annulus 175. Coloration is uniform lavender, becoming lighter anteriorly and ventrally. The coloration is caused by tiny, closely spaced pinkish-cream punctate glands on darker background; when these become closer together and eventually fuse, they give rise to the more pinkish appearance of the head and ventral region.

Habitat and conservation

''Oscaecilia osae'' is a subterranean species that occurs in lowland rainforest at elevations below . There appear not to be major threats to this species, although its distribution and ecology are poorly known. It is well protected by the

Corcovado National Park Corcovado National Park ( es, Parque Nacional Corcovado) is a National Park on the Osa Peninsula, in Osa Canton, southwestern Costa Rica (9° North, 83° West), which is part of the Osa Conservation Area. It was established on 24 October 1975 ...

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1942187 osae Amphibians of Costa Rica Endemic fauna of Costa Rica Amphibians described in 1992 Taxa named by Jay M. Savage Taxonomy articles created by Polbot Isthmian–Pacific moist forests