CreatureData

Mexican caecilian

Dermophis mexicanus (Duméril & Bibron, 1841)

LCLeast Concernamphibians

The mexican caecilian (Dermophis mexicanus), also called Tapalcua or Mexican burrowing caecilian, is an amphibian in the order Gymnophiona and the family Dermophiidae. It reaches a body length of up to 60 cm and has a lifespan of up to 13.8 years.

Mexican caecilian (Dermophis mexicanus)
Photo: Franco Andreone - see authorization · CC BY-SA 2.5 · Wikimedia Commons

Quick facts about the mexican caecilian

Its microhabitat is listed as aquatic, fossorial, terrestrial, and it reproduces by live birth. The IUCN Red List assesses the mexican caecilian globally as Least Concern (LC), which is not a threatened category.

Weight
Not recorded
Length
up to 60 cmsrc for Length
Lifespan
Not recorded
Longest recorded lifespan
13.8 years
Main food
Not recorded
Habitat
Not recorded
Young per litter or clutch
Not recorded
Reproduction
Live birthsrc for Reproduction
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
Countries on record
Not recorded

Where does the mexican caecilian live?

Not recorded

What is the mexican caecilian?

Quoted from WikipediaCC BY-SA 4.0

Dermophis mexicanus, also known commonly as the Mexican burrowing caecilian, the Mexican caecilian, and locally as the tapalcua or tepelcua, is a species of limbless amphibian in the family Dermophiidae. The species is native to Mexico and Central America, where it burrows under leaf litter and plant debris.

From the Wikipedia article “Dermophis mexicanus” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Dermophis_mexicanus&oldid=1368671079), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.

Is the mexican caecilian endangered?

The mexican caecilian is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.

  1. LCLeast Concern
  2. NTNear Threatened
  3. VUVulnerable
  4. ENEndangered
  5. CRCritically Endangered
  6. EWExtinct in the Wild
  7. EXExtinct

Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species. What the categories mean.

How is the mexican caecilian classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumChordata
  3. classAmphibia
  4. orderGymnophiona
  5. familyDermophiidae
  6. genusDermophis
  7. SpeciesDermophis mexicanus (Duméril & Bibron, 1841)

Synonyms Amphisbaena versatilis, Dermophis eburatus, Dermophis mexicanus clarki, Dermophis mexicanus eburatus, Dermophis mexicanus mexicanus, Dermophis septentrionalis, Gymnophis clarkii, Siphonops mexicanus

Other names and names in other languages (14)
  • Mexican burrowing caecilianEnglish
  • TapalcuaEnglish
  • ضفدع ثعباني مكسيكيArabic
  • cecílie mexickáCzech
  • Mexikanische Leder-RingelwühleGerman
  • TapalcuaSpanish
  • BaretillaSpanish
  • Cecilia mexicanaSpanish
  • Culebra de dos cabezasSpanish
  • Suelda con sueldaSpanish
  • Dermophis mexicainFrench
  • Cecilia messicanaItalian
  • 멕시코무족영원Korean
  • Кожистая червягаRussian

Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistWikidataWoRMSIUCN Red List

Relatives of the mexican caecilian

Other species in the same genus Dermophis.

CompareMexican caecilian vs La Loma caecilianMexican caecilian vs Chiriqui caecilianMexican caecilian vs Oaxacan caecilianMexican caecilian vs Atlantic montane caecilian

Common questions

Each answer is written from the sourced facts on this page, and only where they hold the answer.

What kind of animal is the mexican caecilian?

The mexican caecilian is an amphibian. It belongs to the order Gymnophiona and the family Dermophiidae.

How big does the mexican caecilian get?

The mexican caecilian reaches a body length of up to 60 cm.

How long does the mexican caecilian live?

The mexican caecilian has a lifespan of up to 13.8 years.

Is the mexican caecilian endangered?

No. The IUCN Red List assesses it globally as Least Concern (LC), which is not a threatened category.

How does the mexican caecilian reproduce?

The mexican caecilian reproduces by live birth.

What is the mexican caecilian's microhabitat?

Its microhabitat is listed as aquatic, fossorial, terrestrial.

Who named the mexican caecilian and when?

The scientific name Dermophis mexicanus is attributed to (Duméril & Bibron, 1841).

What other names does the mexican caecilian have?

The mexican caecilian is also called Tapalcua and Mexican burrowing caecilian.

Sources and how to cite this page

Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.

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APA

CreatureData. (2026). Mexican caecilian (Dermophis mexicanus). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/mexican-caecilian

MLA

“Mexican caecilian (Dermophis mexicanus).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/mexican-caecilian.

BibTeX
@misc{mexican_caecilian_2026,
  title = {Mexican caecilian (Dermophis mexicanus)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/mexican-caecilian},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}