Description
Relatively large (up to 300 mm in length), stocky rhinatrematid with a long tail (up to 22 mm long). The dorsal ground color is dark lavender with scattered yellowish blotches; the sides and ventral surfaces are yellow with scattered dark lavender spots.

Distribution and Habitat

Country distribution from AmphibiaWeb's database: Colombia, Ecuador

View distribution map in BerkeleyMapper.

This species is found on the Pacific slope of Ecuador. It inhabits pristine rainforest at middle elevations and also lives along streams in deforested areas. Also found in Colombia (Fernandez-Roldan et al 2022).

Life History, Abundance, Activity, and Special Behaviors
Not much is known about their behavior. The diet in the wild consists of earthworms and soil arthropods. These caecilians can excavate their own burrows in moist soil in terraria. They discover earthworms and crickets by scent and lunge forward to grasp them in their jaws. Larger earthworms, capable of struggling when grasped, elicit a twisting response, in which the caecilian rapidly spins on its longitudinal axis. This often result in the earthworm being twisted in half. The portion in the caecilian's jaws is then swallowed.

References

Fernández-Roldán JD, JD Lynch, and GF Medina-Rangel. (2022). "Rediscovery of the marbled caecilian Epicrionops marmoratus and first record from Colombia." Herpetological Bulletin, 161, 34–36. [link]

Nussbaum, R. A. (2003). ''Marbled caecilian, Epicrionops marmoratus.'' Grzimek's Animal Life Encyclopedia, Volume 6, Amphibians. 2nd edition. M. Hutchins, W. E. Duellman, and N. Schlager, eds., Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan.

Species Account Citation: AmphibiaWeb 2023 Epicrionops marmoratus: Marbled Caecilian <https://amphibiaweb.org/species/2010> University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA. Accessed Jan 4, 2025.

Citation: AmphibiaWeb. 2025. <https://amphibiaweb.org> University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA. Accessed 4 Jan 2025.

AmphibiaWeb's policy on data use.