Caeciliidae
Caecilia nigricans
The Erdwühlen ( Caeciliidae ) are the richest in species and form the family of caecilians ( Gymnophiona ). They occur in tropical Central and South America.
Features
Erdwühlen be up to 160 centimeters ( Caecilia thompsoni ) long. The skull consists, like that of all grave forming caecilians, of a few, close-knit bones. The postfrontal is absent. The eyes are covered with skin, with some species also of bony scales. Dander may be present, but also missing. The body is ringed by fully or partially circumferential skin folds ( annuli ). Primary annuli extending over the underlying vertebrae. Between them, yet secondary and tertiary annuli can be. All species are tailless, in some of the body terminates in a Endschuppe. Most species are black or dark gray color, other, some are blue or pink stripes.
They are the only caecilians that have an imperfect stapes, a ossicles, an inner row of teeth with single-pointed teeth in the lower jaw and eyes that are overgrown or covered by the Maxillopalatine. Phylogenetically, they are defined as those caecilians, with Caecilia tentaculata are closer than related to Typhlonectes compressicauda.
Life and reproduction
All Erdwühlen living digging in the ground. Many species are viviparous ( ovoviviparous ), others lay eggs, from which fully developed young animals or aquatic living larvae hatch.
Genera and species
There are two genera and about 40 species:
- Genus Caecilia, northern South America, Panama. Caecilia abitaguae
- Caecilia albiventris
- Caecilia antioquiaensis
- Caecilia armata
- Caecilia attenuata
- Caecilia bokermanni
- Caecilia caribea
- Caecilia corpulenta
- Caecilia crassisquama
- Caecilia degenerata
- Caecilia disossea
- Caecilia dunni
- Caecilia flavopunctata
- Caecilia gracilis
- Caecilia guntheri
- Caecilia inca
- Caecilia isthmica
- Caecilia iwokramae
- Caecilia leucocephala
- Caecilia marcusi
- Caecilia mertensi
- Caecilia nigricans
- Caecilia occidentalis
- Caecilia orientalis
- Caecilia pachynema
- Caecilia perdita
- Caecilia pressula
- Caecilia subdermalis
- Caecilia subnigricans
- Caecilia subterminalis
- Wurmwühle ( Caecilia tentaculata )
- Caecilia tenuissima
- Caecilia thompsoni
- Caecilia Volcani
- Oscaecilia bassleri
- Oscaecilia elongata
- Oscaecilia equatorialis
- Oscaecilia hypereumeces
- Oscaecilia koepckeorum
- Panama Blindwühle ( Oscaecilia ochrocephala )
- Oscaecilia osae
- Oscaecilia polyzona
- Oscaecilia zweifeli