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Aquatic Caecilian
Paignton Zoo is home to 2 aquatic caecilians, which you can find in Amphibian Ark.
Class:
Amphibia
Order:
Gymnophiona
Family:
Typhlonectidae
About the caecilian
Aquatic caecilians are unusual, eel-like amphibians that spend their entire lives underwater. Native to the slow-moving rivers and flooded forests of the Amazon and Orinoco basins in northern South America, they can grow to around 30–45 centimetres in length. With smooth grey to olive skin and no visible limbs, they are often mistaken for snakes, but they are in fact amphibians.
These secretive carnivores feed on small aquatic invertebrates and fish, using sensory tentacles near their mouths to detect prey in murky water. Unlike many amphibians, aquatic caecilians give birth to live young rather than laying eggs.
Conservation
This species is currently listed as Least Concern, although freshwater pollution and habitat degradation pose increasing threats to amphibians across South America.