The comparative anatomy of caecilian mandibles and their teeth

The dentary and splenial teeth on the mandibles were counted for 23 species of caeciUans in 14 genera and 5 famiUes.The genera Scolecomorphus , Caudacaecilia, Dermophis and Siphonops lack splenial teeth.However, lack of splenial teeth is a trait of the species for some caecilians in genera where other species have them and is therefore not a generic nor familial trait.The number of teeth on the mandible and their sizes are potentially useful in taxonomic identification of species.