Herpelidae | |
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Female Herpele squalostoma with her young | |
Scientific classification ![]() | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Amphibia |
Order: | Gymnophiona |
Clade: | Apoda |
Family: | Herpelidae Laurent, 1984 |
Type genus | |
Herpele Peters, 1875
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Genera | |
Herpelidae are a family of caecilians, sometimes known as the African caecilians. They are found in Sub-Saharan Africa.[1][2][3] Like other caecilians, they superficially resemble worms or snakes.[3] They are the sister group to the newly discovered Chikilidae.[4]
Herpelidae occur primarily in Central and East Africa, barely reaching West Africa (southeastern Nigeria), and northern parts of Southern Africa (Malawi, possibly Zambia).[1]
There are two genera with ten species in total:[1][2]