''Scolecomorphus kirkii'' (common names: Kirk's caecilian, Lake Tanganyika caecilian) 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

Scolecomorphidae The Scolecomorphidae are the 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. Caecilians are legless amphibi ...

. It is known from southern

Malawi Malawi (; or aláwi Tumbuka: ''Malaŵi''), officially the Republic of Malawi, is a landlocked country in Southeastern Africa that was formerly known as Nyasaland. It is bordered by Zambia to the west, Tanzania to the north and northeast ...

east of the

Shire River The Shire is the largest river in Malawi. It is the only outlet of Lake Malawi and flows into the Zambezi River in Mozambique. Its length is . The upper Shire River issues from Lake Malawi and runs approximately before it enters shallow Lake Malo ...

, northern

Mozambique Mozambique (), officially the Republic of Mozambique ( pt, Moçambique or , ; ny, Mozambiki; sw, Msumbiji; ts, Muzambhiki), is a country located in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi ...

, and

Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands and ...

(including the

Nguru Nguru may refer to: * Pila Nguru, an aboriginal people of Australia * Nguru (flute), a small Māori nose flute from New Zealand * Nguru, Nigeria, a town and LGA in Yobe State * Hadejia-Nguru wetlands, northern Nigeria * Nguru Lake, a lake whic ...

, Udzungwa and

Uluguru Mountains The Uluguru mountains are a mountain range in eastern Tanzania, named after the Luguru tribe. The main portion of the Uluguru mountains is a ridge running roughly north-south and rising to altitude at its highest point. On the main Uluguru rang ...

); the known distribution is discontinuous but the species is expected to occur in the intervening areas.

Etymology

The specific name ''kirkii'' refers to

Sir John Kirk Sir John Kirk, (19 December 1832 – 15 January 1922) was a physician, naturalist, companion to explorer David Livingstone, and British administrator in Zanzibar, where he was instrumental in ending the slave trade in that country, with the a ...

, a Scottish diplomat, naturalist, and explorer.

Description

Adults measure in snout–vent length; it is the largest ''Scolecomorphus'' species. There are 130–152 primary annuli (ring-shaped folds). The dorsal colouration is lavender-grey and extends to the sides such that it encroaches the flesh or cream coloured mid-ventral surfaces. It is possible that the colouration is

aposematic Aposematism is the advertising by an animal to potential predators that it is not worth attacking or eating. This unprofitability may consist of any defences which make the prey difficult to kill and eat, such as toxicity, venom, foul taste or ...

. ''Scolecomorphus kirkii'' is assumed to be

viviparous Among animals, viviparity is development of the embryo inside the body of the parent. This is opposed to oviparity which is a reproductive mode in which females lay developing eggs that complete their development and hatch externally from the m ...

and not to depend on bodies of water in its reproduction. It is an efficient burrower that feeds on arthropods. Among its predators is the

fossorial A fossorial () animal is one adapted to digging which lives primarily, but not solely, underground. Some examples are badgers, naked mole-rats, clams, meerkats, and mole salamanders, as well as many beetles, wasps, and bees. Prehistoric eviden ...

snake ''

Atractaspis aterrima ''Atractaspis aterrima'', commonly known as the slender burrowing asp or mole viper, is a species of fossorial, venomous snake in the family Atractaspididae. The specific epithet, ''aterrima'', meaning "blackest", is the superlative form of the L ...

'', based on a ''S. kirkii'' individual found in the gut of this snake.

Habitat and conservation

''Scolecomorphus kirkii'' is a soil-dwelling species that occurs in montane and submontane forests, generally at elevations above

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

but sometimes down to asl. It can also live in secondary habitats like fruit gardens and small-holder agricultural areas. It is locally abundant. It can probably suffer from habitat disturbance and conversion caused by deforestation and agricultural intensification, although it is not known whether these constitute significant threats. It has been recorded in pet trade but only rarely. The

International Union for Conservation of Nature The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natu ...

(IUCN) has assessed it as of "

Least Concern A least-concern species is a species that has been categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as evaluated as not being a focus of species conservation because the specific species is still plentiful in the wild. T ...

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2705968 Scolecomorphus Amphibians of Tanzania Amphibians of Malawi Amphibians of Mozambique Taxa named by George Albert Boulenger Amphibians described in 1883 Taxonomy articles created by Polbot