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Caecilian

Caecilian sp.

Description:

2' long limbless amphibian. The caecilians are an order (Gymnophiona) of amphibians that superficially resemble earthworms or snakes. They mostly live hidden in the ground, making them the least familiar order of amphibians. All extant caecilians and their closest fossil relatives are grouped as the clade Apoda. They are mostly distributed in the tropics of South and Central America, Africa, and South Asia. The diet of caecilians is not well known.

Habitat:

Rainforest

Notes:

I picked it up to try & get better pics but found out it was being attacked by ants & had to put it down because I was getting stung.

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8 Comments

KarenL
KarenL 11 years ago

Thanks Aaron! If I had know what it was I think I would have suffered the ant bites to get better shots!

Aaron_G
Aaron_G 11 years ago

Somehow I missed this one! Interesting spot AND story. (sorry about the ants getting you)

KarenL
KarenL 11 years ago

Thanks Brendan! It was a fantastic trip & I have enough spottings to keep me going for a few months!

BrendanSmith
BrendanSmith 11 years ago

Sure! Not common to come across these since they are fossorial. Definitely a cool find! I'm enjoying your spots from Ecuador, looks like a great trip.

KarenL
KarenL 11 years ago

Wow, thanks for the correction Brendan - I was already stoked about finding what I believed to be a giant worm, but this is far more exciting! I wish I had taken more pics, especially a close up of the head.

BrendanSmith
BrendanSmith 11 years ago

Hi Karen...excellent spot!! This appears to be a Caecilian (amphibian). Sometimes mistaken for large worms, some caecilian species can be quite large and robust. The head would be in the right side of the picture and the tail is on the left side. Annular grooves and folds become more numerous posteriorly. Might be a Dermophis or Gymnopis.

KarenL
KarenL 11 years ago

It was huge Cindy - in hindsight I wish I had stuck my boot next to it as a size comparison, but I was too busy cursing the ant bites on my hands!

Wow, 2' long!

KarenL
Spotted by
KarenL

Parroquia Taracoa, Provincia de Orellana, Ecuador

Spotted on Dec 5, 2012
Submitted on Dec 9, 2012

Spotted for Mission

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