A new genus and species of rhinatrematid caecilian (Amphibia: Gymnophiona: Rhinatrematidae) from Ecuador

A new genus and species of rhinatrematid caecilian, Amazops amazops gen. et sp. nov., is described based on a single specimen from Orellana, Ecuador collected in 1990. Among other features the new taxon differs from all other rhinatrematid caecilians in having less than four annular grooves interrupted in the region of the vent and in the squamosal contributing to the bony margin of the orbit. A consideration of its distinctive morphology suggests that it is plausible that the new taxon is the sister taxon of all other rhinatrematid caecilians. That the genus is known from a single specimen, and that this is the first new rhinatrematid species from the Andes described for more than 50 years, highlights the poor sampling (collecting) of rhinatrematid caecilians and limited knowledge of their diversity.