Designed by Paul Smith 2006. This website is copyrighted by law.
Material contained herewith may not be used without the prior written permission of FAUNA Paraguay.
Photographs on this web-site were taken by Paul Smith, Hemme Batjes, Regis Nossent,
Alberto Esquivel, Arne Lesterhuis, José Luis Cartes, Rebecca Zarza and Hugo del Castillo and are used with their permission.
CAECILIDAE - BURROWING CAECILIANS
Two species in two genera recorded in Paraguay. Distributed across the global tropics, members of this family are terrestrial, burrowing amphibians with an earthworm-like appearance. They are found in damp earth in humid forest areas. Due to their subterranean behaviour the eyes are greatly reduced and barely visible through the skin. Siphonops lacks cycloid scales embedded in the skin, but these are present in Luetkenotyphlops. A simple series of teeth is present in the lower jaw, the maxillary and premaxillary teeth being enlarged. Young have gill slits but no external gills and may spend some time as free-living larvae. See Order Gymnophiona for further characteristics of this family that are shared with the Typhlonectidae.
REFERENCES
Cei JM 1980 - Amphibians of Argentina - Monitore Zoologico Italiano Monografia 2.
Fouquette MJ (undated) - Synopsis of Recent Amphibians to Genus - Arizona University.
Whitfield P Ed.1984 - Longman Illustrated Animal Encyclopedia - Guild Publishing, London.
