Boulengerula boulengeri
| Boulengerula boulengeri | ||||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Boulengerula boulengeri | ||||||||||||
| Tornier , 1896 |
Boulengerula boulengeri is a kind of Caecilian (Gymnophiona) from the genus boulengerula in the family of herpelidae .
description
The species is pale blue to gray in color, the top is darker than the underside. The head-torso length is 142 to 242 millimeters in males and 150 to 229 millimeters in females. The head of the males is slightly larger than that of the females. One tail is missing. There are 124 to 134 primary annuli .
Occurrence
Boulengerula boulengeri occurs in northeastern Tanzania in the east and west of the Usambara Mountains and in the Magrotto Mountains at altitudes of 300 to 1500 meters. The species lives in forests and on small farms in the upper 20 centimeters of the soil, but can also penetrate to a depth of more than 50 centimeters in very hard forest soils. It is absent in areas with highly compacted soils such as tea plantations.
Way of life
The species lays eggs in a nest of moist soil. Developed, pink young animals hatch from the eggs. It is possible that, as with Boulengerula taitana , the young initially feed on the skin of the brooding mother. Eggs were found in December, young animals with their mothers from December to January. The period lies within the short rainy season. Adults feed primarily on termites and worms, but also eat most of the other soil invertebrates they find. The predators of Boulengerula boulengeri mainly include various invertebrates such as the ant Dorylus molestus . The snake Elapsoides nigra may only feed on sneak amphibians.
Systematics
Boulengerula boulengeri was first described by Gustav Tornier in 1896 . The population in the Western Usambara Mountains may be two previously undescribed species.
Web links
- Boulengerula boulengeri inthe IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2013.2. Listed by: IUCN SSC Amphibian Specialist Group, 2012. Retrieved March 26, 2014.
Individual evidence
- ^ A b c Elizabeth B. Harper, G. John Measey, David A. Patrick, Michele Menegon, James R. Vonesh: Field Guide to the Amphibians of the Eastern Arc Mountains and Coastal Forests of Tanzania and Kenya . Camerapix, 2010, ISBN 978-1-904722-48-9 , p. 298.
- ↑ Darrel R. Frost: Boulengerula boulengeri Tornier, 1896. In: Amphibian Species of the World: an Online Reference. Version 6.0 (accessed March 23, 2014). (on-line)