CAECILIANS

• SPECIAL CHARACTERISTICS for CAECILIANS
• Caecilians are long, slender amphibians found in hot countries.
• Most caecilians are legless, but some have tiny limbs.
• Most Caecilians have no limbs and move along by muscle contractions that move along their body
• With their segmented bodies, they are highly specialized for burrowing.
• Caecilians have a tentacle on each side of the head located between the eye and the nostril and close to the upper lip. The tentacles are short and globular, and comes out from small, circular holes. The tentacles are used as scent detectors to locate prey and to detect chemical cues from the environment.

 

WHERE DO THEY LIVE?

Almost all live underground, where they burrow through the soil using their wedge-shaped heads. They are only found in the tropical regions of the world specifically in Central and South America, Africa, and SE Asia.

WHAT DO THEY EAT?

                     Like other amphibians, caecilians are predators that hunt worms, insects, and other small soil-dwellers. Caecilians catch their prey using a variety of methods, which ranges from a “sit and wait” or stealth strategy, where it approaches the prey and then quickly attacks using a strong grab of the jaws. They find their prey by using their acute sense of smell. 

WHO EATS THEM?

Their main predators are probably snakes and birds, although they are thought to possess some defense mechanisms against predation.

 REPRODUCTION

 

                        All caecilians are thought to have internal fertilization, in that the eggs are fertilized by the male’s sperm inside the female and not when they are being laid. And even though almost all amphibians reproduce externally, most or if not all caecilians reproduce internally unlike othe amphibians. During mating, the male everts and inserts his phallus into the cloaca (or reproductive opening) of the female for up to several hours.

 

COURTSHIPS(THEIR DANCE MOVES)

Virtually nothing is known of caecilian mate recognition or courtship, although some aquatic species of caecilians have been observed performing an dance before mating.

LIFE CYCLES

                        Some caecilians are have aquatic larvae that hatch after days it was layed. The larvae has gill slits but no external gills. Around 75% of the species give birth to already developed offspring. since not much body parts need to develop. But a lot of them still undergo metamorphosis just like amphibians.

 ANATOMY

SKELETON: JAW MECHANICS

                     Caecilians are unique among vertebrates in having two sets of jaw-closing muscles, one on either side of the jaw joint.

SKIN

Their skin contains mucus and poison glands that other amphibians also have, and caecilians are probably quite toxic to many potential attackers. They are often well camouflaged and spend a majority of their time underground away from a wide variety of potential predators.  You can fine them in many colors and lenghts.