Caecilia pulchraserrana | |
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Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Amphibia |
Order: | Gymnophiona |
Clade: | Apoda |
Family: | Caeciliidae |
Genus: | Caecilia |
Species: | C. pulchraserrana
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Binomial name | |
Caecilia pulchraserrana Acosta Galvis, Torres & Pulido Santacruz, 2019
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Caecilia pulchraserrana is a species of gymnophionic amphibian in the family Caeciliidae, which can be found on the western slopes of the Eastern Ranges and is endemic to Yariguíes National Park, in Santander Department, Colombia.
It can be differentiated from other species of cecilia by its small size, with length varying from 195 to 232 millimeters, for having only incomplete ring-shaped primary grooves, with a number ranging from 100 to 104, smaller than the others, and for having parts of its body salmon colored. It has fossorial habits, spending most of its time buried, and can quickly dig tunnels if it needs to escape quickly.
It was described by a trio of researchers, with the paper being published on October 30, 2019 in the scientific journal ZooKeys. To attest to its speciation, analyses were performed on genes from its mitochondrial DNA, as well as morphological comparisons, which confirmed it. Its name was chosen with the help of local people and is an allusion to the place where it was found.