Ichthyophiidae

Asiatic tailed caecilians
Ichthyophis sp. from the Western Ghats
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Chordata
Class:
Amphibia
Order:
Gymnophiona
Family:
Ichthyophiidae

Taylor, 1968
Genera

Caudacaecilia
Ichthyophis
Uraeotyphlus

The vent is an important taxonomic feature for Ichthyophis identification

Ichthyophiidae is the family of Asiatic tailed caecilians or fish caecilians. They are found in south-east Asia.

They are primitive caecilians. They do not have some of the features found in the other families. For example, the mouth is not back underneath the head, they have tails, and have many scales on their body. They have two sets of muscles for closing the jaw. This is a feature unique to caecilians, but absent in the related family Rhinatrematidae.

They lay their eggs in small holes in moist soil. The eggs hatch into larvae. They live in streams or underground seepages. They the change into adults. There is some evidence that the female may protect the eggs until they hatch.

Taxonomy

Family Ichthyophiidae

References

  1. 1 2 Nussbaum, Ronald A. (1998). Cogger, H.G. & Zweifel, R.G. (ed.). Encyclopedia of Reptiles and Amphibians. San Diego: Academic Press. p. 55. ISBN 0-12-178560-2.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: editors list (link)