The family Scolecomorphidae, commonly known as African caecilians, belongs to the order Gymnophiona, which comprises limbless, burrowing amphibians. These secretive, elongated amphibians are adapted to a subterranean lifestyle, with reduced or absent eyes and a strong, pointed skull for burrowing through soil. Scolecomorphids are primarily found in tropical regions of sub-Saharan Africa and feed on small invertebrates such as worms and insects. Like other caecilians, they have a unique reproductive biology, with some species exhibiting internal fertilization and others giving birth to live young or feeding their offspring with specialized skin secretions. Their secretive nature makes them poorly known, but they play an important role in soil ecosystems as predators of invertebrates.