''Oscaecilia zweifeli'' 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 a poorly known species only known from few specimens: 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 ...

from the imprecise type locality, "a small creek tributary to Río Mazaruni" in

Guyana Guyana ( or ), officially the Cooperative Republic of Guyana, is a country on the northern mainland of South America. Guyana is an indigenous word which means "Land of Many Waters". The capital city is Georgetown. Guyana is bordered by the ...

, one from similarly imprecise

Cayenne Cayenne (; ; gcr, Kayenn) is the capital city of French Guiana, an overseas region and Overseas department, department of France located in South America. The city stands on a former island at the mouth of the Cayenne River on the Atlantic Oc ...

French Guiana French Guiana ( or ; french: link=no, Guyane ; gcr, label=French Guianese Creole, Lagwiyann ) is an overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department/region and single territorial collectivity of France on the northern Atlantic ...

, and another one from the Nouragues research station in French Guiana. The specific name ''zweifeli'' honors

Richard G. Zweifel Richard George Zweifel (born November 5, 1926 in Los Angeles, died November 25, 2019) was an American herpetologist, who classified several species in the American Southwest and in Australia, including the rattling frog. Zweifel contributed immens ...

, an American herpetologist. Common names Zweifel's caecilian and tributary caecilian have been coined for it.

Description

''Oscaecilia zweifeli'' is one of the more robust-bodied members of its genus. The body has 202–216 primary annuli. The dorsum is grayish lavender in color, while the belly is whitish and has some gray specks. There is a yellowish spot near the nostril and a yellowish band on the side of the head, terminating at the aperture for the tentacle.

Habitat, ecology, and conservation

The habitat requirements and ecology of this are poorly known, but it is assumed to be a subterranean species inhabiting lowland tropical forest. Predators of ''Oscaecilia zweifeli'' include the giant tarantula ''

Theraphosa blondi The Goliath birdeater (''Theraphosa blondi'') belongs to the tarantula family Theraphosidae. Found in northern South America, it is the largest spider in the world by mass () and body length (up to ), and second to the giant huntsman spider by ...

'': an adult tarantula was found with its caecilian prey under a rotten trunk, and it had produced a silk cocoon around the head of the dead animal, which was already partly digested. Threats to this species are unknown.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q1941641 Oscaecilia Amphibians of French Guiana Amphibians of Guyana Taxa named by Edward Harrison Taylor Amphibians described in 1968 Taxonomy articles created by Polbot