Typhlonectidae, also known as aquatic caecilians or rubber eels, are a family of
caecilians found east of the
Andes
The Andes, Andes Mountains or Andean Mountains (; ) are the longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range is long, wide (widest between 18°S – 20°S ...
in
South America
South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the southe ...
.
They are
viviparous
Among animals, viviparity is development of the embryo inside the body of the parent. This is opposed to oviparity which is a reproductive mode in which females lay developing eggs that complete their development and hatch externally from the m ...
animals, giving birth to young that possess external gills. Of the five genera in the family, ''Atretochoana'', ''Potamotyphlus'' and ''Typhlonectes'' are entirely aquatic, while ''Chthonerpeton'' and ''Nectocaecilia'' are
semiaquatic
In biology, semiaquatic can refer to various types of animals that spend part of their time in water, or plants that naturally grow partially submerged in water. Examples are given below.
Semiaquatic animals
Semiaquatic animals include:
* Verte ...
.
[ ''Atretochoana'' reaches in length, but other species in the family range from .][
]
Taxonomy
*Genus ''Atretochoana
''Atretochoana eiselti'' is a species of caecilian originally known only from two preserved specimens discovered by Sir Graham Hales in the Brazilian rainforest, while on an expedition with Sir Brian Doll in the late 1800s, but rediscovered in 2 ...
''
**''Atretochoana eiselti''
*Genus ''Chthonerpeton
''Chthonerpeton'' is a genus of semiaquatic amphibians in the family Typhlonectidae. They occur in South America east of the Andes.
Species
''Chthonerpeton'' contains the following species:
* '' Chthonerpeton arii'' Cascon and Lima-Verde, 1994
* ...
''
**''Chthonerpeton arii
''Chthonerpeton arii'' is a species of amphibian in the family Typhlonectidae. It is endemic to Brazil. Its natural habitats are dry savanna, rivers, intermittent rivers, freshwater marshes, intermittent freshwater marshes, pastureland, irrigated ...
''
**''Chthonerpeton braestrupi
''Chthonerpeton braestrupi'' is a species of amphibian in the family Typhlonectidae.It is endemic to Brazil.
Its natural habitats are rivers, swamps, freshwater marshes, intermittent freshwater marshes, pastureland, irrigated land, seasonally flo ...
''
**''Chthonerpeton exile
''Chthonerpeton exile'' is a species of caecilian in the family Typhlonectidae. It is endemic to Brazil, and only known from its imprecise type locality "Bahia". Only one specimen is known and now lost. The specific name ''exile'', form Latin ' ...
''
**''Chthonerpeton indistinctum
''Chthonerpeton indistinctum'' is a species of caecilian in the family Typhlonectidae. It is found in northeastern Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay, and southeastern Brazil. The common name Argentine caecilian has been coined for it.
Description
''C ...
''
**''Chthonerpeton noctinectes
''Chthonerpeton noctinectes'' is a species of amphibian in the family Typhlonectidae, endemic to Brazil. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical seasonally wet or flooded lowland grassland, swamps, freshwater lake
A lake is an are ...
''
**''Chthonerpeton onorei
''Chthonerpeton onorei'' is a species of amphibian in the family Typhlonectidae, endemic to Ecuador. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist montane forests, rivers, swamps, freshwater marshes, intermittent freshwater marshes, pas ...
''
**''Chthonerpeton perissodus
''Chthonerpeton perissodus'' is a species of caecilian in the family Typhlonectidae. It is endemic to Minas Gerais, Brazil, and only known from its imprecise type locality, Rio Pandeiro. Only three specimens are known. The common name Minas Gera ...
''
**''Chthonerpeton viviparum
''Chthonerpeton viviparum'' is a species of caecilian in the family Typhlonectidae. It is endemic to southern Brazil and only known from the vicinity of Joinville, in the eastern Santa Catarina State
Santa Catarina (, ) is a state in the So ...
''
*Genus ''Nectocaecilia
''Nectocaecilia petersii'' is a species of semiaquatic amphibian in the family Typhlonectidae. It belongs to the monotypic genus ''Nectocaecilia''. This species is found in Venezuela and possibly Brazil and Colombia. Its natural habitats are subt ...
''
**''Nectocaecilia petersii''
*Genus ''Potamotyphlus
''Potamotyphlus kaupii'' (also known as Kaup's caecilian) is a species of amphibian in the family Typhlonectidae. It is monotypic within the genus ''Potamotyphlus''. It is found widely in the Amazon Basin and The Guianas in South America.Oliveira ...
''
**''Potamotyphlus kaupii''
*Genus ''Typhlonectes
''Typhlonectes'' (from el, τῠφλός , 'blind' and el, νηκτῆς , 'swimmer') is a genus of caecilians in the family Typhlonectidae. These fully aquatic amphibians are found in the Amazon Basin and Northern South America, and typically ...
''
**''Typhlonectes compressicauda
''Typhlonectes compressicauda'', the Cayenne caecilian, is a species of amphibian in the family Typhlonectidae that lives in water. It is found in Amazonian Brazil, Peru, and Colombia as well as in Guyana and French Guiana, and likely Suriname, ...
''
**''Typhlonectes natans
''Typhlonectes natans'', also incorrectly called the rubber eel, is a species of caecilian in the family Typhlonectidae found in Colombia, Venezuela, and possibly Trinidad and Tobago.
Its natural habitats are dry savanna, subtropical or tropical ...
''
References
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*
*
Amphibian families
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