Herpetology Notes, volume 8: 55-57 (2015) (published online on 10 March 2015)

First record of the genus Microcaecilia Taylor, 1968 (Amphibia,

Gymnophiona: Siphonopidae) from Peru

Jhon J. López-Rojas1,* and Devon Graham2,3

Abstract. We report the first record of the genus Microcaecilia in Peru from lowland, primary rainforest in Loreto, adding to
its previously known geographic range from northwestern Colombia; Ecuador through southern Venezuela to the Guianas and
São Paulo, Brazil. Two individuals of a species of this genus of small caecilians were found in deep leaf litter at the Reserva
Forestal Santa Cruz, located approximately 30 km northeast of the city of Iquitos. We refer to these specimens as Microcaecilia
sp. because of the current difficulty in confidently determining their identity.

Among caecilian amphibians (Gymnophiona) of the
family Siphonopidae Bonaparte, 1850 resurrected by
Wilkinson et al. (2011), Microcaecilia Taylor, 1968
is the most speciose genus, currently containing 15
species of small caecilians, including the recently
described Microcaecilia savagei Donnelly and Wake,
2013; M. dermatophaga Wilkinson, Sherratt, Starace,
and Gower, 2013; and M. marvaleewakeae Maciel
and Hoogmoed, 2013. The genus is so far known from
the eastern Amazonian slopes in Ecuador, Colombia
and Venezuela, as well as in Guyana, Suriname, and
Brazil (Frost, 2014). Three species, M. pricei Dunn,
1944, M. nicefori Barbour, 1924, and M. albiceps
Boulenger, 1882 have been found closest to Peru.
Microcaecilia nicefori is known from the central part of
the Magdalena River Valley, between Honda (Tolima),
Girardot (Cundinamarca), Santander, and northeast
Antioquia at 225-400m asl (Frost, 2014; Castro et
1
Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ecologia e Manejo de
Recursos Naturais, Universidade Federal do Acre – UFAC.
CEP 69915-900. Rio Branco, AC, Brazil.
2
The Honors College, Florida International University, Miami,
Florida, USA
3
Asociación Civil Proyecto Amazonas / Project Amazonas,
Inc., Iquitos, Loreto, Peru and Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, USA.
* Corresponding author: e-mail: lopezrojasjj@gmail.com
al 2004b); and M. pricei, is known from the high
elevations of the Cauca River Valley, in the Department
of Quindio, from the eastern region of the Department
of Antioquia (Río Claro), and also from the Department
of Santander (El Centro), occuring between 200 and
2000m asl (Frost, 2014, Castro et al 2004c), both native
to Colombia. Microcaecilia albiceps has a previously
recorded distribution along the Amazonian slopes of
the Cordillera Oriental of Ecuador (Napo Province)
and Colombia (Caquetá) at 300 and 800m asl (Castro
et al., 2004a; Amphibian web, 2012; Frost, 2014), and
a specimen was observed by Paul Freed in 1994 at
Cuenca, Ecuador (Freed, 2012).
During herpetological surveys at the Reserva
Forestal Santa Cruz, district of Mazán, 30 km NE of
Iquitos, Maynas Province, Department of Loreto, Peru
(03°32’01” S, 73°10’30” W, 110 m asl), two similarly-
sized individuals of Microcaecilia sp. were observed;
one specimen was measured at 76 mm total length
(Figure 1), the second individual was not measured.
They were found by Segundo Rios Ramirez on 2
February 2008 at 10:00 a.m., and were subsequently
photographed and released. Both were found in terra
firme (upland) forest, beneath deep leaf-litter at a depth
of about 15 cm on an approximately 30-degree slope.
A group accompanying Mr. Rios Ramirez disturbed the
leaf litter while hiking up the slope, exposing the soil
surface below. The disturbance revealed the presence of
the two Microcaecilia sp, which were observed on the
soil surface itself.
56
Figure 1. Microcaecilia sp. (photos of live individuals) from the Reserva Forestal Santa Cruz, Loreto, Perú. A: dorsal view; B:
lateral view.
The caecilians are referable to the genus Microcaecilia
based primarily on the position of the tentacle, the
presence of secondary annuli and similarity to other
species of the genus. Visibility of the eye is variable
within the genus (Wilkinson et al., 2013). According to
M. Wilkinson (pers. comm.), counting the number of
annular grooves from a photograph may be too difficult
to obtain definitive counts, and from our photographs it
was only possible to make rough approximations of the
primary annuli and it was not feasible to speculate about
the number of secondary annuli. Based on his estimations
it is quite possible that the specimens are Microcaecilia
albiceps but appear to perhaps have too few primary
annuli and possibly too few secondary annuli to make a
positive identification. In addition, their body coloration
appears to be very dark, whereas the overall coloration
of M. albiceps is usually more purplish (although
this is based on preserved specimens). It is possible
that our observation may actually be an undescribed
species. Due to the difficulties of being able to provide
a more specific diagnosis especially to the difficulty of
finding these species being cryptic habits, we restrict
ourselves to merely assign them to a generic status as:
Microcaecilia sp.
The present individuals provide the first record of
a species of Microcaecilia in Peru. It is important to
point out that none of these specimens were collected
and we hope that this observation will encourage other
researchers to be attentive and perhaps rediscover this
species at other locations in the Loreto region of Peru,
Jhon J. López-Rojas & Devon Graham
particularly in areas north of the Amazon River itself.
Any additional data on Microcaecilia sp. in the Peruvian
Amazon is thus very important to obtain.
Acknowledgements. We are grateful to Project Amazonas,
Inc., which owns and operates the Reserva Forestal Santa Cruz,
and to Segundo Rios Ramirez, who first observed the two
Peruvian specimens. Thanks to Paul Freed, retired Supervisor
of Herpetology, Houston Zoo, Inc and Mark Wilkinson, Natural
History Museum, for their comments and suggestions to the
manuscript.
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Accepted by Hendrik Müller