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.
ORDER GYMNOPHIONA - CAECILIANS
Three species in two families occur in Paraguay. The Caecilians are legless, earthworm-like amphibians with cylindrical, segmented bodies and short tails. The eyes are greatly reduced or absent and a small sensory tentacle is present on the side of the head. The two Paraguayan families have quite different lifestyles, the Caecilidae being subterranean and the Typhlonectidae aquatic, though the latter family has previously been considered a subfamily of an enlarged Caecilidae. The left lung is greatly reduced and the vertebrae are amphicoelous. Ribs are abundant and small, curved teeth are present with varying degrees of development. Fertilisation is internal by virute of an everted cloaca (phallodeum) present in males. Skull is compact with several fusions.
The following skeletal characteristics are present in the two Paraguayan families but are not necessarily representative of the order worldwide. The mouth is recessed and the premaxillae are fused with the nasals. Septomaxillae, prefrontal and postfrontals are absent. The squamosal articulates with the frontal and the pterygoids are fused with the maxillopalatines. Columella firmly articulates with the quadrate.
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.
