FIRST RECORD OF THE MEXICAN CAECILIAN, Dermophis mexicanus (DERMOPHIIDAE), IN COSTA RICA

Juan Pinto; Erick Arias; Juan Gabriel Abarca Alvarado

doi:10.22201/fc.25942158e.2024.1.829

Authors

Juan Pinto Iguana Divers, Cóbano, Puntarenas, Costa Rica
Erick Arias Museo de Zoología, Centro de Investigaciones en Biodiversidad y Ecología Tropical, Universidad de Costa Rica, San José, Costa Rica.
Juan Gabriel Abarca Alvarado Escuela de Ciencias Biológicas, Universidad Nacional

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.22201/fc.25942158e.2024.1.829

Keywords:

Dermophis mexicanus, Nicoya Peninsula, distribution, Tropical Dry Forest, biodiversity.

Abstract

This note provides the first record of the Mexican caecilian (Dermophis mexicanus) in Costa Rica. The known distribution of this species covered from southeastern Mexico to central Nicaragua. The morphological and genetic review of an individual found in Cóbano, Puntarenas, on the Nicoya Peninsula confirms its presence in Costa Rica and increases the distribution of the species 260 km to the south.

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