Typhlonectidae

Aquatic caecilians

Typhlonectes natans
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Amphibia
Order:	Gymnophiona
Family:	Typhlonectidae Taylor, 1968
Genera
See text.

Typhlonectidae, also known as aquatic caecilians or rubber eels, are a family of Gymnophiona amphibians found east of the Andes in South America.^[1]

They are viviparous animals, giving birth to young that possess external gills. Of the five genera in the family, Atretochoana, Potomotyphlus and Typhlonectes are entirely aquatic, while Chthonerpeton and Nectocaecilia are semi-aquatic.^[1] Atretochoana reaches 100 cm (39 in) in length, but other species in the family range from 20 to 60 cm (7.9–23.6 in).^[1]

Taxonomy

Genus Atretochoana
- A. eiselti
Genus Chthonerpeton
- C. arii
- C. braestrupi
- C. exile
- C. indistinctum
- C. noctinectes
- C. onorei
- C. perissodus
- C. viviparum
Genus Nectocaecilia
- N. petersii
Genus Potomotyphlus
- P. kaupii
Genus Typhlonectes
- T. compressicauda - Cayenne caecilian
- Typhlonectes natans

References

1 2 3 Vitt, L. J.; Caldwell, J. P. (25 March 2013). Herpetology: An Introductory Biology of Amphibians and Reptiles. Academic Press. p. 453. ISBN 978-0-12-386920-3. OCLC 898295183.

San Mauro, Diego; David J. Gower; Oommen V. Oommen; Mark Wilkinson; Rafael Zardoya (November 2004). "Phylogeny of caecilian amphibians (Gymnophiona) based on complete mitochondrial genomes and nuclear RAG1". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 33 (2): 413–427. doi:10.1016/j.ympev.2004.05.014. PMID 15336675.
San Mauro, Diego; Miguel Vences; Marina Alcobendas; Rafael Zardoya; Axel Meyer (May 2005). "Initial diversification of living amphibians predated the breakup of Pangaea". American Naturalist 165 (5): 590–599. doi:10.1086/429523. PMID 15795855.
San Mauro, Diego; David J. Gower; Tim Massingham; Mark Wilkinson; Rafael Zardoya; James A. Cotton (August 2009). "Experimental design in caecilian systematics: phylogenetic information of mitochondrial genomes and nuclear rag1". Systematic Biology 58 (4): 425–438. doi:10.1093/sysbio/syp043. PMID 20525595.

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