Amphibians · Gymnophiona · Typhlonectidae

Rio Cauca Caecilian

Typhlonectes natans

Least Concern

The species is abundant and widely distributed; it faces no significant short-term risk. See full glossary

The Rio Cauca caecilian is a limbless amphibian with the look of a giant earthworm and an entirely aquatic life. The caecilians are the third order of amphibians, far less known than the frogs and salamanders. It is viviparous: the embryos develop inside the mother and scrape the walls of the oviduct with specialised foetal teeth.

Size

30 cm – 55 cm

Lifespan

12 years

Diet

Carnivore

Feeds mainly on other animals.

Activity

Nocturnal

Active mainly at night.

Social structure

Solitary

Lives and hunts alone, joining others only to breed.

Sighting difficulty

Easy

RainforestFreshwaterCarnivore Nocturnal Solitary Amphibian Rainforest Freshwater

9countries 25parks

Fun facts

The embryos eat their mother from inside: with special foetal teeth they scrape the inner lining of the oviduct, rich in fat and nutrients, which the mother renews continuously over the seven months of gestation.
The caecilians are the third order of amphibians and the least known: some two hundred limbless species, almost all of them underground, that most people do not even know exist.
It has a pair of retractable tentacles between the eye and the nostril, chemosensory organs unique to the caecilians with which it detects prey in murky water or underground.

Life cycle & biology

Skeleton type: Vertebrate - internal bony skeleton (amphibian)
Habitat & environment: Slow rivers, lagoons and wetlands of the Orinoco and Magdalena basins and northern South America
Sexual maturity: 2 years
Gestation / incubation: 7 months of gestation
Litter / clutch size: 8 live young

Sources consulted: https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Typhlonectes_natans