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.
TYPHLONECTIDAE - AQUATIC CAECILIANS
A single species so far recorded in Paraguay. This small family of aquatic caecilians is confined to the Neotropics where they inhabit freshwater streams and ponds. The eyes are well-developed and two series of teeth are present in the lower jaw. They swim with eel-like movements of the compressed tail. Members of this family lack the primitive body scales present in some members of the Caecilidae. Females give birth to live young (viviparous) and may yield up to four broods per year, newborns lacking external gills - indeed the gill slits close prior to birth. Skeletally the parietal bones of the skull are separated from the squamosals. Temporal fossae are present and the vomer is in contact medially. The columella is imperforate and rigidly attached to the quadrate. See Order Gymnophiona for further characteristics of this family that are shared with the Caecilidae.
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.
