Oscaecilia is a genus of caecilians in the family Caeciliidae.[1][2][3] The genus is distributed in southeastern Central America (Costa Rica, Panama) and northern South America, possibly extending into southern Brazil. They are sometimes known as the South American caecilians.[1]
Adult Oscaecilia often exceed 60 cm (24 in) in total length.[3] The diagnostic characters of Oscaecilia include eyes that are covered by bone, presence of splenial teeth, absence of true tail, and a tentacular opening that is directly below the nostril, much closer to it than to the eye.[4]
There are nine recognized species:[1][2]
Binomial name and author Common name Oscaecilia bassleri (Dunn, 1942) Pastaza River caecilian Oscaecilia elongata (Dunn, 1942) Yavisa caecilian Oscaecilia equatorialis Taylor, 1973 Equatorial caecilian Oscaecilia hypereumeces Taylor, 1968 Joinville caecilian Oscaecilia koepckeorum Wake, 1984 Quisto Cocha caecilian Oscaecilia ochrocephala Cope, 1866 Yellow-headed caecilian Oscaecilia osae Lahanas & Savage, 1992 Osa caecilian, airstrip caecilian Oscaecilia polyzona (Fischer in Peters, 1880) New Granada caecilian Oscaecilia zweifeli Taylor, 1968 Tributary caecilianOscaecilia is a genus of caecilians in the family Caeciliidae. The genus is distributed in southeastern Central America (Costa Rica, Panama) and northern South America, possibly extending into southern Brazil. They are sometimes known as the South American caecilians.
