Boulengerula niedeni Müller, Measey, Loader & Malonza, 2005
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Open encyclopedia reference
Boulengerula niedeni, the Sagalla caecilian, is a worm-like amphibian first described in 2005. The species was described from a specimen discovered on Sagala Hill, an isolated mountain block of the Taita Hills in Kenya, and is not known from other areas.
Little of the original forest remains on Sagalla Hill, but the species seems to adapt to human disturbance associated with small-scale farming activities; it is not found in the eucalyptus plantations that cover much of the hill. Because of the small range of this species, it is as of 2013 listed as endangered on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, while previously from 2006 been listed as critically endangered. It has been listed as one of the top-10 "focal species" in 2008 by the Evolutionarily Distinct and Globally Endangered (EDGE) project.
Wikipedia contributors, Boulengerula niedeni; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T15:30:25.332168+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Boulengerula niedeni Müller, Measey, Loader & Malonza, 2005
- Name authority
- Müller, Measey, Loader & Malonza, 2005
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Amphibia
- Order
- Gymnophiona
- Family
- Herpelidae
- Genus
- Boulengerula
- Extinction status
- Recorded extant
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classAmphibia
- orderGymnophiona
- familyHerpelidae Laurent, 1984
- genusBoulengerula Tornier, 1896
- speciesBoulengerula niedeni Müller, Measey, Loader & Malonza, 2005
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Boulengerula. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Boulengerula boulengeri Tornier, 1896 | HerpelidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Boulengerula endauensis Malonza & Wasonga, 2024 | HerpelidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Boulengerula fischeri Nussbaum & Hinkel, 1994 | HerpelidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=775944 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:MR6Y. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.