Slender caecilian
Caecilia gracilis Shaw, 1802
The slender caecilian (Caecilia gracilis) is a living amphibian in the order Gymnophiona and the family Caeciliidae. It is an invertivore whose main foods are arthropods, placing it at the carnivore trophic level.
Quick facts about the slender caecilian
The IUCN Red List assesses the slender caecilian globally as Least Concern, which is not a threatened category.
- Weight
- Not recorded
- Length
- up to 73.5 cmsrc for Length
- Lifespan
- Not recorded
- Diet
- Invertivoresrc for Diet
- Main food
- arthropodssrc for Main food
- Habitat
- forest, human_modifiedsrc for Habitat
- Young per litter or clutch
- Not recorded
- Conservation status
- Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
Where does the slender caecilian live?
Not recorded
What is the slender caecilian?
Caecilia gracilis is a species of caecilian in the family Caeciliidae. It is found in Brazil, French Guiana, Peru, Suriname, possibly Colombia, and possibly Guyana. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests, moist savanna, plantations, rural gardens, and heavily degraded former forest.
From the Wikipedia article “Caecilia gracilis” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Caecilia_gracilis&oldid=1376658764), 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 slender caecilian endangered?
The slender caecilian is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species.
How is the slender caecilian classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classAmphibia
- orderGymnophiona
- familyCaeciliidae
- genusCaecilia
- SpeciesCaecilia gracilis Shaw, 1802
Synonyms Caecilia gracilis lumbricoidea, Caecilia lumbricoidaea, Caecilia lumbricoides, Caecilia vermiformis
Other names and names in other languages (9)
- Surinam caecilianEnglish
- Surinam caecilianEnglish
- Suriname caecilianEnglish
- Wormlike CaeciliaEnglish
- Wormlike CaeciliaEnglish
- cecílie ladnáCzech
- Cécilie gracileFrench
- Surinaamse wormsalamanderDutch
- Стройная червягаRussian
Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistTAXREFWikidataIUCN Red List
Relatives of the slender caecilian
Other species in the same genus Caecilia.
Bearded Caecilia
Caecilia tentaculata
Rio Lita caecilian
Caecilia nigricans
Thompson's caecilian
Caecilia thompsoni
Abitagua caecilian
Caecilia abitaguae
Cocle caecilian
Caecilia volcani
Magdalena Valley caecilian
Caecilia subnigricans
CompareSlender caecilian vs Bearded CaeciliaSlender caecilian vs Rio Lita caecilianSlender caecilian vs Thompson's caecilianSlender caecilian vs Abitagua 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 slender caecilian?
The slender caecilian is an amphibian in the order Gymnophiona and the family Caeciliidae.
How big is the slender caecilian?
Its body length reaches up to 73.5 cm, the highest value reported by our sources.
What does the slender caecilian eat?
It eats arthropods, its main foods. It is classed as an invertivore at the carnivore trophic level.
What habitat does the slender caecilian use?
Its microhabitat is aquatic, fossorial and terrestrial.
Is the slender caecilian endangered?
No. The IUCN Red List assesses it globally as Least Concern, which is not a threatened category.
What is the scientific name of the slender caecilian and who named it?
Its scientific name is Caecilia gracilis, named by Shaw, 1802.
What other names does the slender caecilian have?
It is also called the Surinam caecilian, Wormlike Caecilia and Suriname caecilian.
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- AmphiBIO, a global database for amphibian ecological traits · CC BY 4.0 · v1
Oliveira, B.F., São-Pedro, V.A., Santos-Barrera, G., Penone, C. & Costa, G.C. (2017) AmphiBIO, a global database for amphibian ecological traits. Scientific Data 4: 170123. https://doi.org/10.1038/sdata.2017.123. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.4644424.v5 - Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
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CreatureData. (2026). Slender caecilian (Caecilia gracilis). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/slender-caecilian
“Slender caecilian (Caecilia gracilis).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/slender-caecilian.
@misc{slender_caecilian_2026,
title = {Slender caecilian (Caecilia gracilis)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/slender-caecilian},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}