''Schistometopum thomense'' is a species of

amphibian Amphibians are tetrapod, four-limbed and ectothermic vertebrates of the Class (biology), class Amphibia. All living amphibians belong to the group Lissamphibia. They inhabit a wide variety of habitats, with most species living within terres ...

in the family

Dermophiidae The Dermophiidae are a family of common caecilians. They are found in Central and South America, and Africa. Like other caecilian Caecilians (; ) are a group of limbless, vermiform or serpentine amphibians. They mostly live hidden in the ...

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 ...

São Tomé São Tomé is the capital and largest city of the Central African island country of São Tomé and Príncipe. Its name is Portuguese for " Saint Thomas". Founded in the 15th century, it is one of Africa's oldest colonial cities. History Álva ...

and

Ilhéu das Rolas Ilhéu das Rolas (also: ''Ilheu Gago Coutinho'') is an islet in the African island nation of São Tomé and Príncipe. The island lies on the Equator, off the southern tip of São Tomé Island, separated by Canal das Rolas. Its maximum elevati ...

. It is found in most soils on São Tomé, from tropical moist lowland

forest A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...

s to coastal

coconut The coconut tree (''Cocos nucifera'') is a member of the palm tree family ( Arecaceae) and the only living species of the genus ''Cocos''. The term "coconut" (or the archaic "cocoanut") can refer to the whole coconut palm, the seed, or the ...

plantation A plantation is an agricultural estate, generally centered on a plantation house, meant for farming that specializes in cash crops, usually mainly planted with a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. The ...

s. It is absent only from the driest northern areas of the island. It is typically around 30 cm (12 in) in length, and is often bright yellow. The size of ''S. thomense'' can vary throughout São Tomé, however, and it is the only known caecilian to follow Bergmann's rule, which states that a decreasing temperature due to factors such as increasing altitude will cause an increase in the body size of endothermic vertebrate species. The island of São Tomé is a massive shield volcano, and it therefore has differing altitudes throughout the island, potentially resulting in the size diversity of ''S. thomense.'' This species may be referred to as the São Tomé caecilian (with various spellings of the island's name), as the Agua Ize caecilian, or as the island caecilian, or by the local name of ''cobra bobo''.Species of the week: Cobra Bobo
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Synonyms

The species has been described under the following synonyms: *''Siphonops thomensis'' — Bocage, 1873 *''Siphonops brevirostris'' — Peters, 1874 *''Dermophis brevirostris'' — Peters 1880 *''Dermophis thomensis'' — Peters, 1880 *''Schistometopum thomense'' — Parker, 1941 *''Schistometopum ephele'' — Taylor, 1965 *''Schistometopum brevirostris'' — Taylor, 1965 *''Schistometopum brevirostre'' — Taylor, 1968

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2237200 thomense Endemic fauna of São Tomé Island Ilhéu das Rolas Amphibians described in 1873 Taxonomy articles created by Polbot