 | This article may have too many red links. (August 2012) |
| Asiatic tailed caecilians | |
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| Ichthyophis sp. from the Western Ghats | |
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| Family: | Ichthyophiidae Taylor, 1968 |
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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.