Question: What are Caecilians?
Answer: Caecilians are a lesser-known group of amphibians (Order Gymnophiona) that have no limbs and only a very short tail. They have a superficial resemblance to snakes, worms, or eels but are not closely related to any of these animals. Instead, they are more closely related to frogs, toads, and salamanders. Caecilians are vertebrates and have jaws and teeth. They are carnivorous and feed on insects and other invertebrates such as worms.
Caecilians are found primarily in tropical regions including South America, Southeast Asia, and Central America. They spend much of their time burrowing underground and hunt using their sense of smell. As a result have little use for their sense of sight and many species of caecilians have partially or entirely lost their vision.
There are six families within the Order Gymnophiona:
- Aquatic Caecilians (Family Typhlonectidae)
- Neotropical Tailed Caecilians (Family Rhinatrematidae)
- Common caecilians (Family Caeciliidae)
- Asiatic Tailed Caecilians (Family Ichthyophiidae)
- Indian Caecilians (Family Uraeotyphlidae)
- African Caecilians (Family Scolecomorphidae)
