The Scolecomorphidae (from , 'wormlike' and , 'form') are a family of caecilians also known as tropical caecilians, buried-eyed caecilians, or African caecilians. They are found in Cameroon in West Africa, and Malawi and Tanzania in East Africa. Caecilians are legless amphibians which superficially resemble worms or snakes. Scolecomorphids have only vestigial eyes, which are attached to the base of a pair of tentacles underneath the snout. Unlike other caecilians, they have only primary annuli; these are grooves running incompletely around the body, giving the animal a segmented appearance. All other caecilians have a complex pattern of grooves, with secondary or tertiary annuli present. Also uniquely amongst tetrapods, the scolecomorphids lack a stapes bone in the middle ear. At least some species of scolecomorphids give birth to live young, retaining the eggs inside the females' bodies until they hatch into fully formed offspring, without the presence of a free-living larval stage. Taxonomy Just six species of scolecomorphids are known, grouped into two genera, as follows: Family Scolecomorphidae Genus Crotaphatrema Nussbaum, 1985 Crotaphatrema bornmuelleri (Werner, 1899), Bornmuller's caecilian, Cameroon Crotaphatrema lamottei (Nussbaum, 1981), Mont Oku caecilian, Cameroon Crotaphatrema tchabalmbaboensis Lawson, 2000, Cameroon Genus Scolecomorphus Boulenger, 1883 Scolecomorphus kirkii Boulenger, 1883, Kirk's caecilian or Lake Tanganyika caecilian, East Africa Scolecomorphus uluguruensis Barbour and Loveridge, 1928, Uluguru black caecilian or Nyingwa caecilian, Tanzania Scolecomorphus vittatus (Boulenger, 1895), ribbon caecilian or banded caecilian, Tanzania References Nussbaum, Ronald A. and Mark Wilkinson (1989). "On the Classification and Phylogeny of Caecilians." Herpetological Monographs, (3), 1-42 Amphibian families Amphibians of Sub-Saharan Africa Taxa named by Edward Harrison Taylor