The order left unmentioned: Gymnophiona (Caecilians)

[Ganoderma]

From the "Frogs are amazing" thread these were mentioned and was suggested to make a new topic. here we go.

 

There are 3 Orders in the class Amphibia (amphibians). The frogs/toads, the salamanders/newts etc and the third lesser known Gymnophiona, caecilians.

 

They basically look like worms. Some cool features about these guys are there are fully aquatic genera (old as rubber eels in pet shops) and fully terrestrial genera. Another important note is they are apparently the first animals to lay fully terrestrial eggs (amniote eggs). I don’t think it has been confirmed but I have read it is believed from fossils to also be if not THE one of the first fully land dwelling animals.

 

The reproduction is what I find quite cool. As said they are the first to have land eggs. But also some have live young. As the babies develop they scrape secretions from the mother to feed for roughly a year in many species then the mother will give birth out the cloaca (poop shoot/vagina). Some species are born already developed, some are born with external gills and metamorphous early on.

 

The fact that most genera live almost exclusively underground or in rotten logs and such makes them pretty hard to study and is probably why they are not only not well known but not well studied either. I think the possibility of loosing species before even discovered is highly likely, like many other animals/plants. On the contrast the fact they are so hard to find could also mean we are just not finding booming populations.

 

I am not well versed with amphibians so much so I shouldn’t really say too much more. I have only kept Dermophis mexicanus and T. natans unfortunately.

 

I have a friend who has traveled various places in central/south America and Africa looking for these (and other amphibians/reptiles) and has found and brought home some nice finds. I plan on collecting a few while visiting various Asian countries as well.

 

There is also a big taxonomic change that has either happened or is happening, but I am bad with taxonomy…such a big mess that I often rather not go near.

 

Here is a link to my site where all the species I could find recorded 5-10 years ago.

 

3 Kingdoms-Amphibian Information

 

Caecilian wiki.

Caecilian - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

one of the main sites on the topic.

Gymnophiona.org

 

Digimorph of D. mexicanus (very cool)

Digimorph - Dermophis mexicanus (Mexican Burrowing Caecilian)

 

about their movement

http://biomechanics.bio.uci.edu/_media/pdf_papers/zjls_caec.pdf

 

Amphibian Species of the World 4.0

Amphibian Species of the World - Gymnophiona Müller, 1832

 

If anyone wants to buy me an article, id like this one..haha.

Entrez PubMed

 

Anywho, these are by far the most interesting group of amphibians to me.

[Michaelangelica]

SF Weird

 

caecilian embryo

Icthyophis kohtaoensis, a caecilian

 

Are they everywhere?

Caecilians are limbless, elongate amphibians that mostly burrow in the substrate. They occur throughout most of the tropical regions of the world, but very little is known about their biology.

The multi-segmented embryo, which had not yet hatched and was removed from the egg membrane for study, is curved around its reservoir of yolk.

Its gills are apparent, as are its lateral line organs (the light spots on its head and down its body are mechanoreceptors and electroreceptors of the lateral line system). The eggs are laid in a burrow near a stream or other body of water, and are tended by the mother until they hatch. The larvae then wriggle into the water, where they live until they metamorphose a year later, and become terrestrial, burrowing adults. Research on the biology of caecilians in the M. H. Wake lab in the Department of Integrative Biology is yielding new insights into pattern and process of development and evolution.

 

Photo submitted by M. H. Wake. The photo taken by Dr. Adam Summers, Miller Postdoctoral Fellow, co-sponsored by M. Wake and D. Wake, in conjunction with the paper in J. Morph. 243(1), Jan. 2000, by Duenker, Wake, and Olson.

ls.berkeley.edu/bio/gallery_ib/caecilian.html

[Ganoderma]

not everywhere, but most warm moist places (like your article said, tropical). not in taiwan though!!! :cup: the ones i used to keep were from mexico. they also exist in africa, asia, and the americas. I am hoping to find some when i go on a reptile/amphibian trip to the Philippines. Fingers crossed.

 

i made a list of all the species (note this is maybe 4 years ago when i did it).

 

3 Kingdoms-Amphibian Information

 

it is still not finished, but i cannot find a copy of "Caecilians of the World" for a price i can afford :eek: maybe at christmas.

 

also note that not all are egg laying, some give birth live (the species i kept did so). now there is some cool stuff. I have been secretly hoping to find some here in taiwan, and always check the mountains when hiking of on field observations....alas no luck :doh:

[Michaelangelica]

not everywhere, but most warm moist places (like your article said, tropical).

 

it is still not finished, but i cannot find a copy of "Caecilians of the World" for a price i can afford maybe at christmas.

 

you are not the only one fascinated by these

here is a professor from Queensland

http://users.bigpond.net.au/Barrie_Jamieson/RBPBirds1.jpg

 

this guy got carried away with his description of them!

They Are Not Worms, Snakes, Or Sicilians

 

Caecilians are some of the stranger and more immediately nasty-looking creatures that Ed looks after at the Zoo. Native to waterways in the Amazon basin, caecilians are amphibians that look like the offspring from a drunken one-night stand shared by a snake and an earthworm.

They are a greyish tan, with no immediately discernible markings.

These creatures would never do it in real life, but they look like the kind of worms that Satan would order to eat Mohammed Atta's eyes in hell for all of eternity--largeish, semi-colorless, and really frisky when excited about food.

Google Image Result for http://photos5.flickr.com/8376795_05a83d1ac5_o.jpg

 

Hungry buggers

[Michaelangelica]

This is along (3 page), wellwritten article on the amphibian crisis.

Well worth a read.

Among about 6,000 species of frogs, salamanders and caecilians (legless animals, pronounced like "Sicilians") are some of the world's most bizarre animals: Giant Chinese salamanders, two metres in length; the "hairy frog" of Cameroon, which not only looks like it sports hair, but also can break its own bones to grow claws (an ability discovered just last month); the Surinam toad, which carries its eggs embedded in its back; and, even more macabre, the Sagalla caecilian, which feeds its own skin to its young.

. . .

 

These make up just a small sample of the amazingly diverse amphibians, which have the longest history on earth. They predate all other terrestrial vertebrates.

 

. . .

 

But the first group of animals to colonize the land is also the first that humans are driving off it. Amphibians are disappearing faster than any other animals since the dinosaurs: 32 per cent of all species are threatened with extinction, compared with 23 per cent of mammals and 12 per cent of birds. Almost half are in decline

. . .

As the most threatened group of animals on the planet, they are not just poster children for the biodiversity crisis, they are also harbingers of things to come. Because amphibians occupy a unique and crucial place in the food chain, their extinctions will ripple through the ecosystem and catalyze the rapid disappearance of other animals, large and small.

. . .

Their young - salamander larvae and frog tadpoles - are major bottom feeders. When they grow into adults and move onto land, they bring nutrients from the water with them.

 

"Usually water is a trap for biomass," says McGill University zoologist David Green, one of Canada's foremost authorities on amphibian declines. Things flow from land into water easily in rain, but amphibians, which move back onto land as adults, are one of the very few things in nature that move nutrients in the reverse direction, back onto land. "That's a very important job," Prof. Green says.

 

. . .

Moreover, as adults, they consume huge numbers of insects, then themselves are consumed in huge numbers by larger animals, such as birds and mammals. If we take these middlemen out of the food chain, the consequences could be disastrous. Insect populations could explode, while birds and mammals may disappear.

 

Yet, despite their importance, conservationists are struggling to raise the funds they need to save them.

 

"A charismatic bird or mammal will easily draw in money, but it is hard to get funding for amphibians," .

globeandmail.com: An amphibious assault

HIGHLY ENDANGERED

 

Chinese giant salamander

 

The largest amphibian in the world. Has declined massively since the 1960s.

 

Primary threat is hunting. Considered a delicacy in China.

 

Olm

 

Blind. Lives in caves. May be able to live for more than 100 years and go without food for 10.

[Michaelangelica]

Land Invaders”

 

Broadcast 11 February 2008, the second programme explores the world of amphibians, of which there are some 6,000 known species.

Attenborough visits Australia to illustrate how they became the first back-boned creatures to colonise land: the lungfish, which is capable of breathing air, and whose ancestors became the first amphibians. The largest of them is the Japanese giant salamander and two are shown wrestling for territory.

In North America, the marbled salamander spends most of its life on land, yet is still able to retain the necessary moisture in its skin through the damp leaf litter.

A female caecilian is filmed with her young, whose rapid growth is discovered to be the result of eating their mother’s skin — re-grown for them every three days.

BBC - Life In Cold Blood | myTVblog.org : Your ultimate TV destination...

[Michaelangelica]

[quote

 

July 2008

10 Amphibians You Didn't Know About

So many amazing animals, so little we know about them! This is your chance to get more up to date with some rare animals. The Zoological Society has published the list of 10 most rare and unusual kinds of amphibians, threatened by extinction and to be included in new conservation programs set for 2008. Zoologists hope that this list and pictures will convince sponsors and enthusiasts to get involved.

 

The list includes the Chinese giant salamander who reaches 1,8 meters at length, the Sagalla caecilian with its indefinite form

Ĵ.ă.ğ.ğ.ĭ.: 10 Amphibians You Didn't Know About

Some weird frogs too

[Michaelangelica]

[quote

 

July 2008

10 Amphibians You Didn't Know About

So many amazing animals, so little we know about them! This is your chance to get more up to date with some rare animals. The Zoological Society has published the list of 10 most rare and unusual kinds of amphibians, threatened by extinction and to be included in new conservation programs set for 2008. Zoologists hope that this list and pictures will convince sponsors and enthusiasts to get involved.

 

The list includes the Chinese giant salamander who reaches 1,8 meters at length, the Sagalla caecilian with its indefinite form

Ĵ.ă.ğ.ğ.ĭ.: 10 Amphibians You Didn't Know About

Some weird frogs too

[Michaelangelica]

freddy81 has been holding out on us.:naughty:

Yellow-striped Caecilian - Ichthyophis kohtaoensis (Road kill)

Expedition in Thailand - Geckos Unlimited

[Ganoderma]

Yikes, never thought i would see caecilian road kill!!!

 

i am heading to Thailand or the Philippines next year where i hope to escape from my wife and mother in law and get into the bush to find these, among other things :naughty: hopefully i find no road kills.

 

i think the statement about eating the skin is a bit stretched...as i understand its a secretion in the ovaries that the young eat while inside. geeze, im am not positive...my memory is running on low lately.....;)

[Michaelangelica]

Really cool anatomy site

 

 

By rozdaboff

This is a great site that does 2D and 3D reconstructions from CT scans. There are quite a few amphibian scans there - and a ton of stuff on the site in general. Amphibians Check out the caecilian scans in particular. ...

Dendroboard - Dendroboard

 

??

[Michaelangelica]

The fact that there are any amphibians at all on these islands is surprising enough, but that such a diverse fauna exists there which also includes a legless burrowing caecilian, the cobra bobo (found only on São Tomé), is truly mind-boggling. How does such a creature get across the ocean?

“Cobra bobo,” Schistometopum thomense. Sao Tome. (Weckerphoto - GG III).

[Michaelangelica]

Our research on the unique flora and fauna of São Tomé and Príncipe Islands is allowing us to document the different kinds of critters that are endemic; i.e., found there and only there

. . .

The fact that there are any amphibians at all on these islands is surprising enough, but that such a diverse fauna exists there which also includes a legless burrowing caecilian, the cobra bobo (found only on São Tomé), is truly mind-boggling. How does such a creature get across the ocean?

“Cobra bobo,” Schistometopum thomense. Sao Tome. (Weckerphoto - GG III).

http://islandbiodiversityrace.wildlifedirect.org/2008/10/23/the-race-strange-bedfellows-part-i/

 

[Michaelangelica]

Strange, Rare, Endangered Species: Amphibians, Reptiles, Birds, Mammals and More Rare Animals | WebEcoist

 

Caecilian amphibians are also represented by several unique species, all of which are poorly understood. Some species have not been recorded since their original discovery decades and even centuries ago. With declines of amphibians a confirmed phenomenon in conservation biology, obtaining information on this unique assemblage of amphibians is now imperative. The main aim of the field study therefore is to carry out research pertinent to the conservation of Cameroon’s unique amphibian fauna, especially the Lake Oku Clawed Frog and endemic caecilians.

 

Thomas has been blogging about his project for EDGE, so watch this space to learn more about this important expedition and the peculiar species he encounters along the way.

EDGE Blog

 

 

 

Scientists of the Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) have discovered Asia’s first amphibian species that gives birth to its young ones rather than laying eggs.

 

Named Gegeneophis seshachari, it was recently discovered at Baraki village near Kolhapur.

 

Amphibians are usually oviparous — egg-laying — but a few species are also known to be viviparous — where embryo develops inside the body of the mother like in mammals. Gegeneophis seshachari is one of the most poorly known caecilian, a legless amphibian species.

 

The first specimen found near Baraki village in Kolhapur district in June 2006 turned out to be a pregnant female with four well developed foetuses. After research and confirmation, it is now named gegeneophis seshachari, the viviparous. “This is the first life-bearing amphibian from India and Asia as well,” Giri said.

Amazing Amphibian First in Asia Frog Matters

 

Purple

Cedro's perfect dream: Purple Caecilian

 

One Hundred Million Years Of Skin Feeding? Extended Parental Care In A Neotropical Caecilian (Amphibia: Gymnophiona)

 

Article Date: 04 Jun 2008 - 2:00 PDT

 

Maternal dermatophagy (eating maternal skin) is an unusual form of parental investment recently discovered in an African caecilian amphibian.

 

We report its discovery in a second, Neotropical caecilian.

 

The detailed similarities of skin feeding in different caecilians provides evidence for its presence in their last common ancestor.

 

The timing of the separation of Africa and South American land masses, and of the divergence of these species, suggest that skin feeding is an ancient form of parental care in caecilians that may have existed for more than 100 million years.

 

Young were also observed to imbibe liquid from their mothers cloaca.

One Hundred Million Years Of Skin Feeding? Extended Parental Care In A Neotropical Caecilian (Amphibia: Gymnophiona)

 

The film crew captured, for the first time, how the caecilian feeds her young. Caecilains are limbless amphibians, and there are are over 170 different species. Because most of these live underground, they are amongst the most poorly known or understood vertebrates. And during the filming of this episode, they discovered that the mother feeds her young by regularly shedding her fat enriched skin, which the babies rip from her body with their tiny especially adapted teeth. (See the footage here: 'Flesh-eating' amphibians filmed at the BBC.)

 

http://duoquartuncia.blogspot.com/2008/04/thank-you-sir-david.html

[Michaelangelica]

Mindanao Island Caecilian Ichthyophis mindanaoensis (Taylor)

Common Names:

Discoverer: Taylor

Category: VULNERABLE

Status: Endemic

Habitat/Distribution: Adults inhabit rotting logs and duff on the forest floor; larvae in pools of clear, unpolluted mountin streams. Altitudinal distribution is from sea level to ca 1,000m (at Mt. Malindang). Range: Mindanao, Palawan and the Sulu Islands

Habitat / Behavior: SVL 200+ to 280mm; the body is cylindrical, worm-like, or slightly deppressed, elongate with 270 to 325 annuli.

The snout is projecting, obtusely pointed and the eyes are small but visible through the skin.

The tail is short and pointed. Color in preservative brown to purplish brown.

Threats:

 

 

.

Mindanao Island Caecilian

Bit of an A***le of a site.

Caecilian Page

[Michaelangelica]

CAECILIAN ART COMPETETION

Frog Art Contest | Cash Prizes

How do you make these guys look cute?

Maybe a stunning photograph may stand a chance?

 

Contest is open to all age groups.

Frog Art Contest | Cash Prizes

[gregdevid]

Hi Friend,

 

The Gymnophiona are an order of limbless, worm-like amphibians known as caecilians (si-'sil-yens). Caecilians typically are blind or nearly so and possess sensory tentacles between the eyes and nostrils. Most are fossorial, though a few are aquatic or semi-aquatic.

 

Thanks,